The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[magee_b]

Originally Posted by Whaler

The single biggest reason is that Saint John airport doesn't have central lighting.
This is very important when flights need to deal with fog and other weather conditions.

I remember this coming up a few years back when Fredericton and Moncton airports had secured funding for similar upgrades.

Saint John airport overlooked for funding
CBC News
Feb 23, 2011

....The federal and provincial governments are spending more than $24 million on infrastructure upgrades in New Brunswick. Approved airport projects include upgrades to the runway and lighting at Fredericton International Airport and extending a runway at Greater Moncton International Airport by 1,300 metres.

Saint John airport has been in need of similar renovations for some time, but its application for government assistance went unheeded. The $8 million application included enhanced lighting, a larger terminal and a redesigned parking lot.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/saint-john-airport-overlooked-for-funding-1.978391

[Gnarly]

Saint John gets shafted at every turn....what is the Saint John Member of Parliament, and the Saint John member of the provincial parliament doing about these issues.

[MountPleasant]

To truly discover Saint John is to understand how much the city has been shafted. Cursed since 1867

But I have faith in the city! Just saying

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Gnarly

Saint John gets shafted at every turn....what is the Saint John Member of Parliament, and the Saint John member of the provincial parliament doing about these issues.

What they're doing about a three year old article about SJ Airport missing one round of funding?

Because, you know, the feds never help SJ. Never...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunsw...-shape-thanks-to-9m-in-funding-1.2466203

http://www.saintjohn.ca/en/home/news/new...uitiontosafecleandrinkingwaterproje.aspx

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/nr-cp/_2011/2011_35-eng.php

http://actionplan.gc.ca/en/initiative/refurbishment-saint-john-harbour-bridge

http://www.news889.com/2014/02/19/city-province-off-the-hook-for-partridge-island-study/

[MountPleasant]

Originally Posted by JHikka

What they're doing about a three year old article about SJ Airport missing one round of funding?

Because, you know, the feds never help SJ. Never...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunsw...-shape-thanks-to-9m-in-funding-1.2466203

http://www.saintjohn.ca/en/home/news/new...uitiontosafecleandrinkingwaterproje.aspx

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/nr-cp/_2011/2011_35-eng.php

http://actionplan.gc.ca/en/initiative/refurbishment-saint-john-harbour-bridge

http://www.news889.com/2014/02/19/city-province-off-the-hook-for-partridge-island-study/

Nice work googling 5 sources of funding... you could do the same for literally any community.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by MountPleasant

Nice work googling 5 sources of funding... you could do the same for literally any community.

Which probably says more for the Feds than anything else. People seem to like acting as though the Feds have left SJ completely on its own, to die a slow, long death, when that simply isn't true. It's astonishing how short a memory people can have when it comes to funding, contributions, and support. I'm tired of people being so negative in a place that needs to be, and has been, going through serious municipal reform and revamp.

We've gone over the issue of airports in NB over and over. When the issue of NB having three relatively major airports within ~an hour and a half drive of each other comes up it's understandable why the Feds wouldn't want to devote money to all three for one round of funding. GMIA is the major spoke airport in NB just as Halifax is the major spoke airport for Atlantic Canada. It's not the Feds being selective and, god forbid, giving money to Moncton over hard-working Saint John, it's just the classification system for airports and their importance to air travel (and safety) in Canada.

Saint John focuses, and receives a decent amount of funding, for its Port. Moncton focuses, and receives a decent amount of funding, for its Airport.

------

I'm glad to see Shannex and the YMCA properties moving along at a decent pace. Two good projects for the North End and Millidgeville.

[MonctonRad]

Excellent post Greg.

The most important thing to remember is that (for better or for worse), NB has evolved in a different manner than NS and as such, it is unfair to compare any of our cities to Halifax.

In NS, it is a given that if anything is going to be developed or funded in the province, it will be in Halifax. This is of course to the detriment of the remainder of NS and has contributed to a serious urban/rural split in that province.

In NB, political evolution has been much different. Saint John suffered the first blow to it's predominance when the British crown decided to locate the colonial capital 150 km upstream in Fredericton in 1785. A new rival arose in the latter half of the 19th century when the railway industry took hold in Moncton. The ICR chose Moncton over Saint John simply for geographic reasons, since Moncton lay close to the Isthmus of Chignecto, and thus was the gateway to NS.

So NB ended up with three principle cities - the port and industrial centre (SJ), the capital, military and educational centre (Fredericton) and the transportation and distribution centre (Moncton). There was no real conspiracy involved; it's just the way things evolved in this province. There is no reason to be bitter about any of this (unless you still hold a 231 year old grudge against King George III). All three cities just have to make the best out of this situation and learn to focus the majority of their energies on their core strengths.

[phishy]

The Moncton airport is so leveraged that its financial situation is extremely tenuous. They have received obscene government funding for infrastructure improvements which were not provided to SJ. I understand that distribution can be seen as warranted as SJ has received funding for other things. The simple fact is that SJ is under represented with provincial and federal funding and employment. The other two cities get a disproportional amount of funding and employment due to SJ's strong industrial economy. In SJ we provide the vast majority of the provinces GDP, mainly based on refinery exports.
Anyway, the Moncton airport has been on a risky financial standing due to some risky investments from their leadership. If the governments had rushed in to save the day, things would be very different. In contrast YSJ is strong financially and has a good business approach to its day to day operations. They aren't floundering in debt and leveraged to the gills. It doesn't seem quite fair that when you do things the "right" way you don't get rewarded and those who don't plan properly get bailed out and are covered by safety net after safety net. I guess the general population is the same way though, it often doesn't seem there are many rewards for earning good salaries, saving money, investing properly, etc, you just end up paying for everyone else who doesn't bother to take care of themselves.

[MonctonRad]

Sigh; I knew this would end up being another SJ vs Moncton dust-up, but I have to respond to the aspersions that somehow the GMIA is an economic basket case being unfairly supported by the hard working port and refinery workers in Saint John.

This image capture is from the GMIA 2013 annual report, and shows that the GMIA is an economically viable enterprise, currently generating a healthy annual profit margin.



The GMIA is not a basket case, and is doing it's level best to ensure it's long term prosperity as a major air transportation hub in NB. In particular, it is attempting to position itself as a major air cargo centre for the Maritime region. In doing so, it is not attempting to somehow screw Saint John in the process. The main target in this strategy is in fact Halifax, and if the GMIA is successful, this will be good for NB as a whole.

[magee_b]

Sorry folks. I wasn't trying to dustup the usual back and forth by posting the old CBC article. Merely responding to Whaler's issue around runway lighting and how it seems to have been on the radar for YSJ management for several years, but they don't have the capital to invest in it.

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by phishy

I guess the general population is the same way though, it often doesn't seem there are many rewards for earning good salaries, saving money, investing properly, etc, you just end up paying for everyone else who doesn't bother to take care of themselves.

As someone who earns a modest salary, I take exception to this. I can't afford a house; I can't even afford a decent apartment. There are plenty of rewards for earning good salaries. I would love to have the financial freedom to own a comfortable living space and be able to fund my hobbies; I would love to have the income to spare to actually save and invest.

I also don't collect anything from the government outside of my quarterly GST rebate, but I'm happy to pay taxes and EI premiums because I know that if I were to lose my job and what little money I do earn, that I would be taken care of.

I also wouldn't be so fast to lump everyone collecting government assistance into the "doesn't bother to take care of themselves" category. There will always be people who game the system, but they're a fairly small percentage of the overall number. It's great to suggest that people go out and get jobs, but they can't take positions that aren't there for the taking.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by phishy

I guess the general population is the same way though, it often doesn't seem there are many rewards for earning good salaries, saving money, investing properly, etc, you just end up paying for everyone else who doesn't bother to take care of themselves.

That's a ridiculous statement.

[Fischbob]

So... in actual development news, some renovations are in the works to convert the former Sunstar Lounge space at the corner of Germain and Grannan [Church] into a restaurant/bar space. As part of the work, the storefront and windows along Grannan will be restored and the whole thing generally spruced up. The images below are from the April HDB agenda:

[MountPleasant]

LOL OK, let's not pretend to list off the legitimate grievances Saint John has. Moreover, do not dismiss such grievances as trivial or even comparable to any other urban centre in the country

Glance at "Saint John, New Brunswick: How Politics Killed a Boom Town" by Paul T. E. Cusack

...That's my two cents.

ALSO very pleased to see the Grannan Lane development

[hebertovich]

Haven't been by the Gothic arches lately but has any work begun on that property ?

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by Fischbob

So... in actual development news, some renovations are in the works to convert the former Sunstar Lounge space at the corner of Germain and Grannan [Church] into a restaurant/bar space. As part of the work, the storefront and windows along Grannan will be restored and the whole thing generally spruced up. The images below are from the April HDB agenda:

My office will now have a new closest bar. This is a good thing

(also, Acre rock)

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by kwajo

My office will now have a new closest bar. This is a good thing

(also, Acre rock)

Is this right next to the feel Good Store? I actually dont recognize this building from Germain but great to see ANOTHER uptown building being spruced up.

I continue to be amazed by the volume of investment in the core.

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by nwalbert

Is this right next to the feel Good Store? I actually dont recognize this building from Germain but great to see ANOTHER uptown building being spruced up.

I continue to be amazed by the volume of investment in the core.

It's the same building as the Feel Good Store.

Here's a Google Maps street view angle from Germain that shows both the front and the side elevation seen in the concept work: http://goo.gl/maps/JLOlg

[WharfRat]

Dealermine in Saint John to create 135 jobs
CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/dealermine-in-saint-john-to-create-135-jobs-1.2644475

A company in Saint John that provides software to car dealers across North America plans to create 135 full-time jobs over the next three years, more than doubling its workforce.

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by WharfRat

Dealermine in Saint John to create 135 jobs
CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/dealermine-in-saint-john-to-create-135-jobs-1.2644475

A company in Saint John that provides software to car dealers across North America plans to create 135 full-time jobs over the next three years, more than doubling its workforce.

I just read this in the newspaper, fantastic news! The jobs have really been rolling into the city lately. I suspect we will some pretty decent population increases to go with it in the coming years.