Discovery Centre’s future is not at risk

‘‘ The point is, all doors should remain open. We need as many innovative ideas as possible.

If last week’s public meeting on the future of Hamilton’s Discovery Centre is any indication, there is a significant amount of interest in the future of the former Marine Discovery Centre and home of Sarcoa, the now largely defunct restaurant and bar.

That’s good. It’s a significant piece of real estate and will play an important role in waterfront redevelopment next steps, so we should be concerned and interested about what the future holds.

But let’s do a quick reality check.

There’s a great deal of concern about whether the facility could end up in private hands. That’s understandable, but premature. Some people are equating that with the city’s decision to make the Discovery Centre potentially part of the request for proposal process for the rest of the Pier 8 project.

What that really means is that should a bidder be successful for the Pier 8 residential/commercial project, that bidder would have the first right of negotiating for the Discovery Centre site.

It doesn’t amount to a sale because that set of negotiations would be separate from the overall project and would still require approval by city council. There’s another reason all the angst is a little early. It is that the operators of Sarcoa still have legal action pending against the city and Waterfront Trust. The owners maintain they still have a valid lease, originally signed for 20 years. If the action ends up in court, a judge could rule the owners are right and they could continue to hold that valid lease, which would limit any other options.

Even if the legal action is settled and the lease terminated, it doesn’t follow that whatever happens next at the Discovery Centre has to be strictly in the public realm. There may well be private sector players who have innovative ideas about how it should be used.

A private-public partnership should not be ruled out, especially if one can be found that serves the public and generates revenue for the city as well.

Some will disagree. They’ll argue that private operation is the same as privatization. Our view is that municipalities in general, and Hamilton in particular, are not in a position to take on asset ownership, especially where the assets are a net cost to taxpayers without providing counterbalancing tax base or other benefits.

In a perfect world, assets that have intrinsic value could be publicly-owned regardless of cost. But we don’t live in that world. City Hall has to remain constantly aware of value to taxpayers in all ways, including financial.

Whether it’s Auchmar or the Discovery Centre, a balance must be struck.

None of this means the waterfront facility has to be sold off to the highest bidder, without regard for the public benefit. The site is currently zoned for institutional use, which rules out random commercial use. And there is a broad recognition that whatever purpose it serves needs to keep public interest and access in mind. There are already interesting suggestions including a civic museum, an aviary and a library.

The point is, all doors should remain open. We need as many innovative ideas as possible. We need a resolution to the Sarcoa legal action. And we need meaningful public consultation across a broad range of taxpayers. After all, the waterfront belongs to all Hamiltonians, not just those who live in the immediate vicinity.