Kudos to Council

Too often we hear the well worn argument about controversial development that it should be accommodated because it contributes to the tax base or that development benefits a particular group of favoured constituents like the elderly or children so it shouldn’t be questioned. As of November’s Council meeting, that can no longer be said to be the default position of a majority of Rothesay councillors.

It is likely that new Rothesay councillors understand that Rothesay doesn’t need its brobdingnagian tax base augmented further and it was that knowledge that defeated the first part of the pro-development argument. Rothesay as we know is blessed with considerably more tax revenue than it can spend wisely. So let’s hope the message has finally been delivered.

But more than that, in refusing to approve zoning changes to accommodate a high density development within a low density residential neighbourhood, Rothesay Council took a responsible change in direction on Monday. Not only did it toss aside the tax revenue argument, it didn’t fall for the ruse that this was also good because of “the seniors!”.

Four members of Council, Wells, Brenan, MacKay, and surprisingly, the Deputy Mayor, moved Rothesay away from an almost routine approval of spot rezoning to accommodate developers and toward a more considered policy of respecting the town’s municipal plan as well as the will of adjacent landowners.

As many planners understand, routine use of spot re-zoning undermines public trust in councils’ ability to maintain neighborhood stability, especially quality of life and the lifelong investment residents make in their homes.

The merits or lack thereof aside, this particular development was sent back to the drawing board, we hope, with a message to residents that their concerns might now trump the interests of developers when the maximization of profits is in some future conflict with the interests of neighbors.

It is also a wakeup call to town staff that the argument for high density development (It’s always good for the tax base) won’t fly as easily with Rothesay Council in future.

So Kudos to those four for doing the right thing on Monday night because in doing so they’ve sent a reassuring message to anyone who is considering investing in a home in Rothesay. That message is that the neighbourhood you see now should not be rendered less livable or less valuable with some future change in the rules governing development. Let’s hope this decision sets a precedent council will stand by in future.

But then they had to burst our balloon by pursuing yet another “recreation” project without so much as a business case and without the context of any public understanding of what priorities this council intends to pursue!

I’m referring of course to council’s other notable decision last Monday night. That was to seek funding for another recreation black hole project in isolation of any broader priority-setting. 

Council voted to pursue a million dollar plus “crosswalk” so a handful of weekend walkers can cross the airport highway without breaking stride.

In isolation, it’s fair to say that spending money on pedestrian safety is a good thing. The question here though, is how does this fit in with all the other needs of the town, like the unfinished issue of pedestrian safety around Rothesay Common or the dangerous mess bike lanes are in throughout the town? 

The public has not seen a business case showing why this spending is remotely justified. To add to taxpayers frustration, (because context is everything) we have yet to be told what other spending this council may be planning as an end of year surprise for weary taxpayers. A million dollars could go a long way to securing some of the town’s existing green space that we enjoy only through the generosity of private landowners. But I digress…

What we do know is that when added to the rest of the Town’s growing recreation wish list, this $1m plus adds to a track record of wasteful and largely unjustified spending. It should not go ahead until there is an updated recreation master plan and the question of the Rothesay Arena is settled once and for all. 

The Arena project has now become a $17.5 million mega-boondoggle and costs are still climbing. Council continues to spend money pursuing that project despite the fact that there is no appetite in Fredericton or Ottawa to share the cost. You may remember, the last Rothesay Fieldhouse proposal reached an eye popping cost of more than $28 million before Councillor Blair MacDonald was able to bell that cat.

But as we’ve seen, the Mayor and several councillors from the old council are refusing to see the absurdity and the waste of money in a new facility. It appears that they’d rather let Rothesay Kids play hockey in an Arena that has been clearly neglected, (perhaps to prove a point with the outside funders) rather than do the minimum necessary maintenance. So while this continues to be pursued, taxpayers can expect to see another million or so spent on plans, studies, and tearing down another Apartment building on Scott Avenue, for nothing. No heads will roll and no politicians will be held accountable.

When the cost of buying another apartment building to accommodate the latest Arena plan is added to the roughly  $2.5 – $3 million already spent on previous failed attempts at a sports palace on the Arena site next to the town hall, Rothesay will have squandered enough taxpayers hard earned money to have made the necessary improvements to the existing arena with cash left over for programs.

Instead, we haven’t yet seen operating costs for the new Arena and Field house conversion (To be called a wellness centre). The previous estimate for the proposed Rothesay Field House showed that it alone would lose $800,000 to $900,000 on operations each year. So it’s understandable that this council hasn’t yet talked about operating costs for their current proposal of converting the existing Arena to  a “Wellness Centre” plus operating a new Arena next door.

Those who followed the Rothesay Common project might remember that operating costs were also not made public before the previous council approved the Rothesay Common Rink.

I challenge anyone to follow the cat’s cradle of town financial reporting. If they can, they might see that the Common’s rink began operations last year without the old council bothering to vote operating funds as a line item in the 2015 town budget (Oops!).

When the budget was approved, it was for this year (2016) and it understated the operating costs to such an extent that the money budgeted was exhausted before the end of the skating season.

So like other taxpayers, I’d like to know when and if council is going to approve yet more money to finance the outdoor money pit through to the end of 2016. And then perhaps next year’s budget will reflect the true costs of operations so they don’t run out of money before next spring…

While I suspect we’ll never see the full costs presented to the public any time soon, it’s looking like the operating costs I presented to council in 2014 are proving to be more accurate than those budgeted by the old council. We need a big picture plan folks! Council’s next order of recreation business should be to update the Recreation Master Plan before any more capital is committed to ad hoc recreation projects.