Preliminary Police headquarters conceptual drawings.......
Mayor defends secrecy
City Hall: Citizens remain unconvinced as Norm McFarlane promises public
Sandra Davis
Telegraph-Journal
Published Saturday November 17th, 2007
Appeared on page B1
SAINT JOHN - Proposed plans for a portion of the development north of Union Street were unveiled Friday with a pledge by Mayor Norm McFarlane that public consultations will start as early as next month.
But the presentation has left people complaining that it didn't go far enough.
A three-dimensional architect's drawing in reporters' press kits shows a development extending from Hazen Avenue all the way to Coburg Street, a four-block stretch. What was presented to the public during the press conference was a rudimentary drawing of the two blocks between Hazen Avenue and Wellington Row which will be home to the new police/justice complex.
"To pull together this press conference on one piece of a much larger development looks like it was deflecting the real issue - more public consultation about a larger development," says Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton.
An artist's rendition of the new police station was also shown. The three-dimensional version of the larger development was not presented because it wasn't in the proper format, said a spokesperson for the city.
Realtor and concerned citizen Bob McVicar called the press conference "a bit of a sham."
"Most of what we saw this morning, we've seen before. That's not what's causing people concern," he said. "What he didn't talk about were the other four blocks to the east. That was the glaring omission. There was a lot of time wasted on things that aren't issues for people."
Hooton has publicly criticized council's handling of the project for leaving the public out of the discussions.
"The community will not be pacified," she said. "They have a lot of questions and they want meaningful consultation, not lip service. It was a missed opportunity. We had a room full of concerned citizens. They were informed and presented to, but not afforded the opportunity to ask any questions. The mayor took the press corps into his office, closed the door and had a 'Q and A' so the community never got to hear the questions."
Public consultation should have been included from the project's beginning, she says.
"It empowers the community and lets them take ownership and get excited."
Over the past two days, prominent citizens have been complaining that some members of council and city staff have been surreptitiously making plans for the Carleton-Wellington-Union-Hazen Avenue area without public consultation.
McFarlane told the crowd of media and concerned citizens who gathered in the Red Room on Friday that the development the city envisions is a "once in a lifetime opportunity to re-invigorate the uptown core".
He defended the decision to keep a lid on the project saying that it is "very sensitive" because the city is trying to buy up the properties it needs.
"One building has been sold out from underneath us because of all this coming up," the mayor said later in an interview. He would not identify the building.
"The taxpayer is going to end up paying double for this," he said.
Hooton has said that the argument is spin because, the reality is, the community knows who is buying the properties.
McFarlane also will not say how much money has been spent nor how many properties have been bought, although city staff said last summer that they had 90 per cent of the properties needed for the development.
"This will all be public information when we have it. We're dealing with taxpayers' money. I don't want to charge one more cent to the taxpayer than we have to," said McFarlane.
Friday's press conference was called to clear up the confusion, the mayor said.
"When you read the newspaper and read so many misconceptions, it's time to get the right story out there," said McFarlane. "The police commission just received their rendering yesterday. How could we have public input when we didn't even have it?"
In fact, concerned citizens have said repeatedly that they know a new police station is needed.
That's not what they're upset about - what they are disappointed in is the lack of participation in a project that could, over time, see four blocks razed.
Historic buildings could be wiped out and streets stopped up.
"There have been visualizations of what this could look like," says city planner Jim Baird. "We're now beginning to get at the stage where we're actually looking at somewhat specific designs. That's where we want to have the involvement of the community, in the larger vision."
Throughout the press conference, McFarlane continually stressed that everything has been done with the blessing of common council and that all but one were unanimous.
"That would indicate that all of council was there to offer unanimous support," said Hooton in an interview. "Well, there was a significant meeting that I wasn't at when scope was greatly enlarged that council gave unanimous support to."
The mayor also presented the public a timeline of how the project had unfolded so far, with council's stamp of approval. It failed to identify which items were addressed in common council's closed or open sessions.
"I feel it is extremely important for me to explain the background of this process," said McFarlane. "I want to make sure that we are as transparent as we can be at this point to ensure there isn't any misinformation communicated out there to the public."
Within his timeline, McFarlane spoke of having held consultations with various groups, including the Saint John Board of Trade, something that concerned citizen Hazel Braithwaite takes issue with.
"To the best of my knowledge those 'consultations' were separate," says Braithwaite. "There was no opportunity to hear what others were thinking and saying. I was one of three women asked for my opinion, in one of those separate meetings. We each said that we were not concerned if the new police station was uptown. It is, after all, a city station and not just uptown's.
"A true consultation would have all the input on a flipchart, shared and could be used as a roadmap. As a community, how do you know if we are on the right path if we don't have a plan?"
"Public consultation takes place at the very beginning of a process, negotiation in the middle and a fight at the end. I and others are tired of fighting. We want a real place at the table, at the beginning in this and all other major decisions. The place to begin is the Municipal Plan which I do not believe has been updated in over 20 years," she said.
Aside from the police/justice complex, plans for the blocks between Hazen Street and Wellington Row include a pedway connection to Brunswick Square, a public plaza and pedestrian space where art may be displayed, parking garage, maybe even a hotel, office space or residential development, if private investors determine a need.
"What buildings will be removed depends on what the private sector wants to do," says Baird.
The Saint John Arts Centre remains the focus of the development, he says, and the drawings presented on Friday are preliminary and subject to change.
"We wanted to share with you an idea of the scope and the potential of this project," said McFarlane.
"Through this development, the city is opening the area to further development.
"Development that will compliment the historical integrity of the uptown area and bring much needed life to an area that is currently under utilized."
As far as the new police station goes, commission chairman Andrew Britton says he is excited to share an artist's rendition.
"We have something now where we can begin a process to get further input, to get further consultation with respect to the design of the police headquarters facility. They've done an excellent job of balancing the many variables we have before we come to a final design."
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