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Posted May 18, 2009, 5:44 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Grand Bay-Westfield :: NB
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Port authority itching to show off new terminal
Tourism Cruise ship facility will officially open June 8 but Premier Shawn Graham will get a sneak peek on Friday
Published Monday May 18th, 2009
C1
April Robinson
Telegraph-Journal
SAINT JOHN - It's just three weeks until the grand opening of the new Water Street cruise ship terminal, and Capt. Al Soppitt can't wait.
Stephen McCavour director of engineering for the port stands at the bottom of stairs and escaltors where passengers come down from pedway.
"This is really a celebration of the cruise as an important sector of our business," said Soppitt, president and chief executive of the Saint John Port Authority. "We've seen tremendous growth in the industry last year and this year and we're hoping that will continue."
The new terminal will be shown-off with the opening of Port Days to conference delegates during a business mixer. The chief executive of Princess Cruises will cut the ribbon.
A "rather prominent" country music star will open the evening with O Canada, though Bill Eaton, public affairs manager, won't reveal who it is.
"Tickets are going at a much brisker pace than past years," Eaton said. Port Days is an annual event to showcase the port and recognize its customers.
It's expected about 190,000 passengers will stop in Saint John this season, leading to more than $26 million in economic spin-off for the area.
The port authority has invested close to $20 million in cruise infrastructure over the past five years, Soppitt said.
It's become an increasingly important sector during the economic downturn.
Cruise passengers have grown from 183,000 last year and 134,000 in 2007.
"It's one of the areas that is continuing to show growth," Soppitt said. "It's the second-highest revenue generator for us."
Potash continues to be the top income-earner for the port authority.
Soppitt said the new cruise ship terminal enhances the growing cruise business.
"It's an attractive, provoking gateway. It sets the right tone - it's clean, modern and accessbile to the uptown," he said.
It's also a new waterfront venue that will provide income for the port authority, he said.
Eaton said the authority has been busy fielding booking requests for annual meetings and dinners throughout the summer.
"We've already got two Christmas parities booked," he said.
The port authority is also preparing to play host during a board of trade event May 22.
Premier Shawn Graham will be the guest of honour at a $120-a-plate fundraiser.
Officials will announce the new terminal's name at the grand opening, June 8. The contest closed May 8 with more than 50 entries from area high school students.
The first cruise ship - the Carnival Triumph from New York City - arrives June 9. The new terminal has been in the works since 2003, when the port authority announced it would convert the Pugsley terminal into a dedicated cruise facility.
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Finalists decided for Peel Plaza construction
Development Three companies will submit proposals and council will decide from there whether to proceed or not
Published Monday May 18th, 2009
C1
Reid Southwick
Telegraph-Journal
SAINT JOHN - The city has selected three companies to submit proposals to build a new parking garage and police station in the city centre, marking a final stage before common council decides the fate of the projects.
The proposals will give city politicians firm costs of the development, allowing them to make an informed decision on whether they should allow the projects to move ahead.
The police station in particular has been at the centre of debate in recent weeks, with Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase and Councillor Bill Farren saying they are willing to put the project on hold, should it force an increase in the tax rate.
The city expects it will issue a request for proposals within the next three months, but it hasn't yet set a deadline for submissions or when council will review the bids, deputy city manager Pat Woods said.
City councillor Gary Sullivan said he is confident in the quality of companies the city has selected - and their bids will provide the ground work for a final, informed debate on the project.
"These consortiums or companies are going to be spending a lot of their own money, not Saint John's money, in order to do these proposals because they are very serious about it," Sullivan said.
"Then, I think, we can have a very informed discussion. Right now, people have been saying it could be this much money or it could be that much money; and we can't afford this or we can't afford that.
"Well, now we'll know what we're talking about and how much money the debate is about."
Sullivan, a member of the Peel Plaza steering committee, said he has not yet decided whether he will support the project - but he will when the final costs come in.
"My mind is not made up. I'm certainly for moving the process forward and I'm certainly for the police having an appropriate facility," Sullivan said. "I think I've got to be smart and prudent about it - I've got to wait and see what the price tag is."
The city selected Integrated Team Solutions, Ashford Investments Inc. and AeroTerm Management to present bids for the multimillion-dollar project.
These companies were chosen from five firms that responded to a request for qualifications, which allowed the city to review their capacities and experiences with financing, building, operating and maintaining infrastructure.
During a closed session meeting last week, common council gave its blessing to the Peel Plaza steering committee, which includes Sullivan, Mayor Ivan Court, Coun. Chris Titus and Coun. Peter McGuire, to move ahead with the selection of the three finalists.
"The committee is really pleased with the quality of the companies looking to partner with us on this project. These national companies see the opportunity for growth and investment in our community," Court said in a release.
"Their interest is clear: to prepare a response like this represents significant time and financial commitment."
Chase said he remains concerned about the $28-million price tage of the police station, but he noted the request for proposals asks for design features that may reduce costs, something that gives the deputy mayor comfort.
"I don't want this project to be the reason why we would have to increase the tax rate or not make good on the commitments that we've made," Chase said.
"The key here is that we have opened up the opportunity for respondents to bring back some ideas on which costs can be driven down from the original
estimates."
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McGuire taking city's war on derelict buildings to legislature
Published Monday May 18th, 2009
C1
Reid Southwick
Telegraph-Journal
SAINT JOHN - City councillor Peter McGuire plans to press provincial government officials in June to place some critical bylaws on the legislative agenda, allowing the city to demolish derelict buildings and, perhaps, take ownership of the properties.
McGuire said he is scheduled to meet with officials from the departments of Social Development and Local Government in the middle of next month as he tries to make the city's case for the bylaws.
McGuire said he wants the bylaws to be tabled in the legislature in late fall, although he added the next spring session might be more realistic.
"I would think the appetite for this legislation would be high or certainly would exist at a high level," McGuire said.
"I would hope that if they sit late fall, we could get it on the docket then; that's the goal."
The city's buildings and inspections department has already drafted a proposed bylaw that would give the city new powers to deal with derelict buildings.
The bylaw, approved by common council earlier this month, would give property owners four months to demolish or clean up derelict buildings before the city could raze the structures at the owners' expense.
Council has given McGuire its blessing to lobby the province to make the bylaw a priority in Fredericton.
The politicians also approved a motion that allows McGuire to investigate whether the province would give the city authority to take ownership of the properties after the city demolishes buildings. The idea is that the city would ask non-profit groups to build affordable housing units on these properties.
Although the bylaw may prove to be controversial, McGuire said he doesn't want the city to be speckled with vacant lots after bulldozers lay to waste derelict buildings. The councillor said those lots should be used to fulfill one of the city's priorities: housing for people living in poverty.
"The owner has left the building derelict so obviously they're not going to invest in it; if the owner hasn't been, then we should be able to," McGuire said.
"I'm not going to miss an opportunity to get the city's hands on vacant lots so we can build. That is an opportunity that I think is sitting there and I would hope that we could attain that."
McGuire said many of the derelict buildings are located in the city's five priority neighbourhoods, including Crescent Valley, lower west side, old north end, Waterloo Village and the deep south end.
McGuire believes a program that allows the city to destroy these eyesores and replaces them with affordable housing would greatly help the fortunes of those neighbourhoods.
"There is more than a handful of these buildings around this city and they seem to be clustered in our priority neighbourhoods, so lets enhance their quality of life."
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Many residents say bring on the development
Community Proposed changes to municipal plan has town of Rothesay buzzing
Published Monday May 18th, 2009
C5
MIKE MULLEN
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
ROTHESAY - If you speak to valley residents about proposed changes to Rothesay's municipal plan, one thing quickly becomes clear: Many of them would still like to see a Wal-Mart built on the same piece of Millennium Drive that almost became home to one in 2006.
Peter Gorman believes the plot of land on Millennium Drive, across from Kent building supplies, should be developed.
"I think if they don't put a Wal-Mart there, they've missed the boat," Peter Gorman of nearby Donlyn Drive, Quispamsis, said during a random survey of holiday weekend shoppers in Rothesay.
"I would like to have it in Quispamsis and get the tax dollars."
Gorman said he could never understand why the town bowed to pressure from residents, who live behind the site, and let Wal-Mart get away.
"When I built (on Donlyn), let's face it, there was nothing around me either," he said. "Now, there's all kinds of houses around me. I have no problem with it. You get used to it.
"I mean, Wal-Mart, what better neighbours could you have? He goes to bed at 10 o'clock at night. There's no parties. Nothing. It's a very quiet thing after 10 o'clock."
Gorman wasn't the only shopper who voiced their support for Wal-Mart, both on and off the record, when asked for an opinion on proposed changes to Rothesay's municipal plan that would see the Millennium Drive site designated for mixed usage of residential, commercial and institutional purposes.
There's even a more controversial proposal to allow a mix of low, medium and high-density housing in the Hill Side development area, located along Highway 1, on either side of the Riverside Country Club.
"It's the 'not in my back yard' syndrome," complained Robin Dunn of Quispamsis. "They turned Wal-Mart down because of a few residents, not the majority of people. It was a real mistake when they turned them down. I know if I had been the owner of the land, I would have cut every tree off it and left it a mess."
He said he would love to see Wal-Mart try again.
"The more the better out here," he said. "I would go for it."
Dunn also favours mixed housing throughout the valley area.
"You have to have mixed housing, otherwise you don't have a community," he said.
Kathy Anderson of Rothesay and Russell Cameron of Quispamsis agreed with him.
"I really don't have a problem with any construction that goes in the town," Anderson said. "I think the more construction the better it is for the community. I live in Chapel Hill (a garden home community). When the Superstore was built, there was a lot of flak about that. I myself wanted Wal-Mart. I thought it was great. Anything to keep us in the valley and from going to the city."
She and young married couple, James and Amanda Finlay of Rothesay, both talked of the need for more entry-level housing to be built in the valley.
"People need a place to live," said Anderson, a one-time Gondola Point resident. "With the lack of entry-level housing now, it's almost impossible for young couples."
Amanda Finlay said it is hard for young couples to come up with equity to buy higher-priced homes.
Quispamsis resident Mike McDermott, for one, said he wouldn't want to see a Wal-Mart built on Millennium Drive.
"Light commercial is all right for this area; I think Wal-Mart would be too heavy," he said. "They shouldn't get into high-density (housing), but low-density is all right. We're also on wells out here."
He said townhouses would be acceptable, but not apartment buildings.
"If you want to put up high-rises and stuff like that, stick to the city," he said. "That's why people moved out here in the first place. It's like when Gondola Point got gobbled up by Quispamsis. Gondola Point was single family. As soon as Quispamsis took over, it became a cash cow. They opened it all up."
And once you cross that line and allow one developer to do something, he said, "There's no going back."
Eric Sabean of Saint John, a young family man who once lived on the Kingston Peninsula, said with all the construction activity slated for the city in the next few years, the valley needs to have a diversity of housing that will accommodate people from all walks of life.
Frances Hansen of Hammond River said she would like to see some clothing stores added to the commercial strip around the Real Atlantic Superstore, while Rothesay resident Charmaine Adams would like to see commercial outlets limited to areas away from residences.
"I know some people who live in this area," she said, as she shopped at Superstore, "and they're planning to move out."
Greg Gill of Quispamsis had a novel idea for the Millennium Drive site.
"They need a bigger school out here," he said.
"The ones they've got now are overcrowded. Even a civic centre, something for the community."
Several Rothesay residents, who said they personally would have liked to have seen a Wal-Mart come to town, declined to make any comments on the record for fear of offending friends who had fought against it.
As one man said, "I want to stay friends."
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The million-dollar question
Infrastructure Should the city build one water treatment plant or two?
Published Monday May 18th, 2009
C1
Reid Southwick
Telegraph-Journal
SAINT JOHN - It's the million-dollar question: how much could the city save by having one water treatment plant, rather than two?
The city is seriously considering a single plant again after engineers from Ontario wrapped up the first in a series of three workshops on water treatment plans.
NCE Value Engineers Inc. is reviewing the city's plans, looking at project designs, the most appropriate costs, the potential for private investment and the value of one plant, among other considerations.
There were no cost estimates for a single plant available, but they will likely be part of a report that common council will review by early June, city manager Terry Totten said.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase, who has been pushing for a single plant for months, expects the cost savings will be significant.
"It reduces the capital investment and there are less operating costs, because you have employees working at one plant rather than two," Chase said.
Previously, municipal operations commissioner Paul Groody presented a water treatment plan with a large plant on the east side of Reversing Falls and a smaller one serving the west.
On several occasions when Chase advocated for a single plant, Groody said it wouldn't be practical, mostly because western customers would lose water if the transmission pipe broke.
But there's talk the city could run an emergency pipeline along the river bed, as a backup for the water supply.
Chase said he's pleased the third-party review of the city's water plans has validated his belief a single plant is a more cost-effective option.
"This whole value engineering exercise has highlighted the importance of seeking expert opinion on these big issues that face the city," Chase said. "Without that, our senior staff were determined about going down the road of building two treatment plants. At least they recognize the value of this exercise."
This is not the first round of talks on a single plant.
Council commissioned a study in 1999 that suggested the city should build a $63-million plant at Latimer Lake that would supply drinking water for the entire city. At the time, a consultant called two treatment plants "a non-starter" because of the increased costs.
Four years later, a different consultant said the eastern and western water systems were connected by only one 19-inch steel pipe and having a single plant would leave the west side of the city vulnerable to a "very lengthy" disruption in water service.
Near the end of 2004, council adopted a plan with two plants.
Besides acting as a backup, a second plant might also reduce transmission costs. Mayor Ivan Court said in a February interview that over the long term, it could be cheaper to send water from two plants instead of one because it would have less distance to travel, lowering the pumping and electrical costs.
Chase has studied water meter rates across the country and found Saint John's rates are the highest among Canadian cities - and he believes a single plant would keep future costs down.
"We need to have the most practical and efficient system in terms of construction and operation, because there is this critical affordability issue."
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