Councillor calls for independent audit of Hamilton Waterfront Trust

A Hamilton Councillor says it’s time to clear the air about questions concerning Hamilton’s Waterfront Trust.

Ward 7 Coun. Donna Skelly plans to put forward a motion for a third-party audit of the organization at the Oct. 4 General Issues Committee meeting.

“I’m not looking for a smoking gun,” Skelly said. “I’m just looking for a clear understanding of how this trust has evolved since its inception.”

“Let’s show that we aren’t hiding anything,” she added. “Take a look at the books, and then I think everyone can breath a sigh of relief and say we have been transparent.”

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She said sees this as a chance to find out what the Waterfront Trust has done right and what’s not gone well.

LISTEN: Ward 7 Coun. Donna Skelly joins the Bill Kelly Show

Skelly said the latter would include finding out why the Williams Cafe has not been profitable and what happened with the now-shuttered Sarcoa Restaurant.

The councillor has raised questions about the Waterfront Trust’s operations before,  including whether the trust should be in charge of the multi-million dollar West Harbour redevelopment.

The $140-million project includes 1,600 residential units, 13,000 square metres of commercial and institutional space, a 30-metre-wide waterfront park, and a new “green street” that connects the property from east to west.

The development, which will feature a mix of building heights, will also include a centralized garage, a water park, plaza space, a skate park and a playground.