MONCTON – City councillor Daniel Bourgeois wants residents to have a say into how much they would pay for a new downtown events centre.
Bourgeois says he would like to add a question to a quarterly municipal poll.
“How much would you be willing to pay in additional property taxes per year over the next 30 years to fund the downtown centre?”
The new centre is expected to cost more than $100 million. The city is hoping the federal and provincial governments will foot about half the bill.
But Bourgeois says that would leave Moncton taxpayers on the hook for massive building costs.
“I think because of the magnitude and the importance of the tax rate that it’s going to produce, citizens should be able to tell us what they think about it,” he said.
He plans to bring the motion before council next month.
Downtown, residents were mixed as to how much they would pay for the new centre.
Kendall Claridge says he wouldn’t put money towards it.
“None, to be honest. We’ve got the coliseum and we’ve got the 4 Plex,” he said. “Spend the money into our roads and economy that’s needed instead of something new that really we don’t need.”
- Life in the forest: How Stanley Park’s longest resident survived a changing landscape
- ‘Love at first sight’: Snow leopard at Toronto Zoo pregnant for 1st time
- Carbon rebate labelling in bank deposits fuelling confusion, minister says
- Buzz kill? Gen Z less interested in coffee than older Canadians, survey shows
But Sarah Hebert says investing in the new centre would benefit the community.
“I think as a household $40-50 per year,” she said. “If we had a downtown centre we might be able to bring some more kid-friendly acts and indoor concerts things like that which would create hotel revenue.”
Supporters say the new centre would also bring sporting events downtown and that would free-up space at the Moncton Coliseum.
Right now, some sports teams and tradeshows usually have to share valuable floor space during play-offs.
This weekend, organizers for the New Brunswick Sportsmen’s Show are sharing the ice surface space with the Moncton Wildcats.
Scott Sprague is an event manager with Master Promotions Ltd.
“It is tough to be in here together,” he said. “If tradeshows and hockey had their own facilities we wouldn’t be in these types of tight situations.”
Comments