Stepping up on upgrades
City of Charlottetown borrowing $1.7 million to boost Bell Aliant Centre capital budget
The City of Charlottetown is borrowing $1.7 million to boost the capital budget for the Bell Aliant Centre this year.
City council passed a resolution to that effect at its monthly meeting on Monday, which was held by video conference.
Coun. Terry Bernard, chairman of the finance committee, said when the capital budget for the current fiscal year came out in February there was uncertainty concerning certain items requested for capital expenditure, adding that there was no money in the capital budget for Bell Aliant Centre or Eastlink Centre.
The original plan was to have the two operations borrow their own capital money needs, and the city would simply pay the cost of the loan. But Bernard said things are easier this way.
Bernard said the Bell Aliant Centre is in need of a new dehumidification system that will have to be done in phases, and its parking lot needs to be paved, which alone will cost about $400,000.
The money also covers arena compressors and other minor capital/emergency repairs.
The original plan was to address the first phase of the dehumidification system next year, which would have required shutting down the facility.
Bernard said since the facility is currently shut down due to the pandemic, it made more sense to do the first phase now rather than wait a year and have to close the facility down again.
The city is responsible for 87 per cent of the cost of the work, and the expenditure is contingent on the other stakeholders chipping in as well.
Others providing funding are UPEI and the CARI commercial tenant fund. The total budget is $2,132,300.
Coun. Bob Doiron was the lone councillor to vote against the expenditure.
Doiron said he recently drove out to UPEI to take a look at the parking lot and didn’t think it was in immediate need of asphalt.
He pointed out that the city is facing a lot of financial uncertainty due to the pandemic and suggested the city hold off on paving the parking lot for at least another year.
Bernard said the city might as well take advantage of the fact the facility is shut down now rather than hold off and hurt the centre’s revenue streams down the road.
It was also discussed at council that the city is in talks with the province’s health department about moving meetings back to council chambers in time for its monthly meeting in June.