{"id":12493,"date":"2019-10-02T00:50:52","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T03:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=12493"},"modified":"2019-10-02T00:50:52","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T03:50:52","slug":"streatch-blackburn-echo-concerns-of-cfl-stadium-on-hrm-taxpayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=12493","title":{"rendered":"Streatch, Blackburn echo concerns of CFL stadium on HRM taxpayers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEAVER BANK: <\/strong>Two\n local councillors have no will to see a CFL stadium built in Shannon \nPark if it means HRM writing a cheque and taxpayers being what they see \nas unduly impacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa Blackburn, the municipal representative \nfor Middle-Upper Sackville-Lucasville-Beaver Bank, and Waverley-Fall \nRiver-Musquodoboit Valley representative Steve Streatch were asked for \ntheir reaction to the proposal from Schooners Sport & Entertainment \n(SSE) that is now before HRM staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal details a \nsite-specific development that includes a stadium and a commercial \ndistrict. It was initially received by the municipality on Aug. 30, with\n the latest version of its proposal being received Sept. 17. It followed\n some initial questions and requests for clarification by municipal \nstaff, said CAO Jacques Dube in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blackburn said it \nwill be a lot to balance for HRM staff in parsing it all done. She said \nshe will wait and see what staff recommends with regards to the numbers \ngame, but does like parts of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do like the fact they have \ngiven us five options to consider,\u201d she said on Oct. 1. \u201cFrom the very \nstart, I\u2019ve said I\u2019m not in favour of handing over cash, so I will be \nlooking at options that don\u2019t involve HRM writing a cheque or operating a\n stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe thought of loan guarantees scares me, so I need more clarification from staff on what level of risk would be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Streatch\n said the email that Dube sent out last week did not provide enough \nin-depth information or context for him to offer an opinion at this \npoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI support the concept of a stadium, but have no interest \nin exposing the taxpayers to undue risk, or potential long term \nliability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SSE proposal assumes that some or all the\n funds for the municipality\u2019s financial support would be generated from a\n tax incremental financing (TIF) model. As part of the Oct. 30, 2018 \nmotion by Regional Council, the TIF model was identified as a potential \nmeans for the municipality to secure funding for the debt financing of a\n stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five funding options are outlined in the SSE proposal \nregarding the manner (timing, mechanism, etc.) in which the municipality\n may consider using the funds generated from the TIF to contribute to \nthe stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Option #1: Maximum Financial Contribution of $2M Per Year Over the Term of the Loan with TIF Revenue Going Directly to SSE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Option #2: Upfront Cash Payment<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Option #3: Smaller Upfront Cash Payment with Committed Cash Payments over the Term of the Loan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Option #4: Loan Guarantee<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Option #5: Sliding Scale of Committed Cash Payments<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n an interview on The Rick Howe Show on Sept. 30, Bedford councillor Tim \nOuthit said he had a lot of concerns with the current proposal as it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I had to vote tomorrow, I would not be accepting any of these options\u2026 There is too much risk being shifted on the public.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blackburn said if a vote was held today, she wouldn\u2019t have enough information to make a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five options on the table all come with pros and cons, said Blackburn. \u201cMaybe the solution is a combination of all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Streatch said it would be hypothetical for him to say how he would vote today because that is not the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\n never answer hypothetical questions,\u201d he said. There will be much \ndiscussion over the next while, and Council will set the stage moving \nforward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for Blackburn, her concerns don\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\n also worry about the services needed to support a stadium district,\u201d \nshe said. \u201cWould it mean delaying projects in District 14 that have been\n on the books for years? I don\u2019t know if I can justify that\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said she is definitely not anti-stadium, even if that is the appearance people may get from her responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe romantic side of me loves the thought of driving over the MacKay Bridge and seeing the Shannon Park area transformed, but the realistic side has real concerns about the location and the risk to HRM taxpayers,\u201d said Blackburn.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEAVER BANK: Two local councillors have no will to see a CFL stadium built in Shannon Park if it means HRM writing a cheque and taxpayers being what they see as unduly impacted. Lisa Blackburn, the municipal representative for Middle-Upper Sackville-Lucasville-Beaver Bank, and Waverley-Fall River-Musquodoboit Valley representative Steve Streatch were asked for their reaction to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,12],"tags":[284,50,121,786,787,788,57],"class_list":["post-12493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-featured","tag-cfl","tag-halifax","tag-hrm","tag-shannon-park","tag-sse","tag-stadium","tag-steve-streatch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}