Although a final decision was not reached during Tuesday evening's special committee meeting, North Bay City Council members did unanimously recommend forming a separate committee to decide the direction of the twin-pad arena and community centre proposal within 30 days.
See related: Arena saga continues: Committee recommends creating committee
And: Arena project is topic of tonight's special committee meeting
Following more than two hours of discussion on Tuesday, the committee ultimately created its own fourth option beyond the three presented in the report from CAO John Severino.
Mayor Peter Chirico concluded the meeting with, "We look forward to our meeting on Friday to establish the committee and to moving forward with something that is affordable for our community."
There were several highlights and points of interest that were fleshed out in the question and answer period involving the local politicians and municipal senior staff:
BayToday polls
As unscientific as they are considered by some, council members and staff spent ample time discussing BayToday poll results.
Citing results showing an extreme distaste for the arena project among respondents to a recent BayToday poll, Councillor Justine Mallah raised the matter with Severino on Tuesday, in seeking to quantify the value of arena infrastructure.
More than two-thirds of respondents (more than 1,000 out of nearly 1,500) favoured doing away with the project entirely. The poll opened on Aug. 2 and asked, "If you were a councillor, which arena option would you choose?"
"BayToday has a poll out regarding which choice readers would feel more comfortable moving forward with in terms of this project," Mallah stated. "Over 60 per cent said they would like to scrap the project. A comment I receive frequently is, 'I'm not going to be using the arena so I don't support it.'"
In response to the poll's findings, Severino noted, "You could probably make that argument for any discretionary investment that council may make. It is an important asset. Is it considered a core asset? One could argue no. Others will argue yes. To market our community we do need modern, accessible facilities, whether they be a community centre, an arts centre, or creatives — I'd hate to comment on a poll of that nature. You could use the same thing for transit, for example."
"That's a fair point," Mallah said. "It's our duty to represent the public, so I wanted to hear your thoughts on that."
Later, Coun. Tanya Vrebosch rekindled the discussion with the CAO about the poll. "I just want to make sure it's clarified that polls such as in BayToday, do you know the way people are polled? Are they all citizens of North Bay? Can you vote more than once? Just to give it some context, if they would make their decision based on that? If the public is hearing that, I want to make sure the context is there."
Severino responded, "I'm not in a position to comment on that. I don't know enough about their polling."
Editor's note: The software prevents you from voting more than once. You can not vote twice from the same IP address.
The $25.77-million federal grant is still in play
Up to $25.77 million in funding from the federal Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program is still available, according to Coun. Lana Mitchell. "I met with MP Anthony Rota [Tuesday] morning and they are still genuinely interested in the creation of a community and recreation centre here and the grant for green, net zero carbon development is still on the table. We would still have to meet the criteria — and in a timely manner — due to the current federal climate."
Coun. Chris Mayne asked if a change in location would jeopardize the federal funding. Severino said the funding remains available and as long as the technical requirements are met, the location can change. The funding is tied to the project, he later explained, not the location.
West Ferris Arena
Senior staff indicated a study would have to be performed on the arena to see if it can be repaired to add years to its life. Engineer David Jackowski recommends a full assessment of the facility with a focus on the structural condition. A geotechnical assessment would be necessary to determine why the building is sinking in the north end and establish solutions. An accessibility audit is required. The building envelope needs repair. "You can see the outside from inside," Jackowski noted.
The current plan sees a condition assessment performed every three years with a visual assessment every summer. No recent costing was done to keep the arena operating.
Coun. Mark King asked for a time frame to assess the arena and Jackowski supposed they could be completed within nine months of awarding a contract for the work, although that timeline could be extended if serious issues are discovered.
Severino acknowledged West Ferris Arena does not have to be replaced immediately but there are variables that can change quickly.
$50 million price tag
The round figure of $50 million was bandied about by several councillors as a new starting point for the project, although nothing is official. Severino acknowledged the ballpark figure in his examples.
The Mayor asked how the project ballooned to $70 million "when we were at $52 million one year ago."
Severino responded increases in labour, materials, and market uncertainty drove the escalation. "We were surprised by the amount, that would be an understatement," he added.
The financial impact on taxpayers
CFO Margaret Karpenko says the financial plan is sound and the project, whatever form it takes, has been properly budgeted.
"Moving forward, there will be a continued effort to review projects with the intent of trying not to maximize the $13 million that's in our long-term capital financing plan. That allows us to issue the $13 million on an annual basis, and effectively, over the next five years, reduce the annual debt commitment to offset the increase that we would be approving upon awarding this contract should we proceed.
"At this point, I would suggest that control, in terms of the overall impact to the ratepayer, is going to be monitored. Do we have line-item solutions today? No. We'll have to come back with that. That is our intent. Look to 2026 and '27 to continue to push the envelope and see what are our needs, and what are our wants, and defer any wants or anything that is not critical to our asset life in order to be able to accommodate this project."
Coun. Mark King noted the obligation for the Cassellholme reconstruction is $5.5 million per year and, at its current price point, financing would be needed to borrow at least some of the $27.7 million needed beyond the federal grant. Value engineering would likely remove up to $4 million from the project as it stands now.
Karpenko also explained to the council the financial plan has been adjusted to allow for the construction of both Cassellholme and the community centre. "I wouldn't want to say there is zero future impact on the tax levy but we've done adequate planning so it shouldn't be anything significant."
The ad hoc arena committee will be formed during a special meeting Friday at noon in the Mayor's boardroom on the fifth floor of North Bay City Hall. "The ad hoc committee will provide a report back to council — with a recommendation — within no more than 30 days," according to Coun. Mitchell.
