Final vote coming on Fleming College twin-pad
Council will vote a final time on Monday to build a new twinpad arena on campus at Fleming College rather than at Trent University — but citizens will be allowed to speak up about it first.
Earlier this month, councillors gave preliminary approval to the plan at a committee meeting; on Monday, it goes to a final vote.
The idea is to build the arena at Fleming College rather than at Trent University because construction at Trent would decimate provincially significant wetlands there.
The wetlands were evaluated lately and found to be provincially significant; the plan to build a twin-pad arena and pool was approved by the previous city council in 2015.
Also, the plan is being downscaled so the building doesn’t include a pool — at least not initially.
Although the current city council had been planning a complex with a twin-pad arena and pool all under one roof, a new city staff report states that it would bring the cost above $50 million.
And if the total cost of the project exceeds $50 million, it becomes ineligible for a new costsharing program with the federal and provincial governments that could potentially yield up to $37 million for the city.
Meanwhile council must act fast: the deadline to apply for the money is Nov. 12.
At the committee meeting on Oct. 15, two councillors spoke and voted against the plan: Coun. Stephen Wright and Coun. Henry Clarke both said they were concerned there has been no opportunity for public consultation.
But Coun. Dean Pappas said it’s critical to apply for the $37 million, and asked staff to report back in the first few months of 2020 on a plan to add a pool soon.
The change of plans is coming after years of environmentalists, Trent University students and Indigenous groups objecting to development on the wetlands at Trent.
Mayor Diane Therrien said on Oct. 15 she never wanted to build on the Trent wetlands when she was a councillor on the previous city council and she still feels that way.
Fleming College had been the previous city council’s secondchoice location when a site selection happened in 2015, and Therrien said on Oct. 15 there are no wetland concerns on the Fleming site.