I like the idea of building a twin-pad arena on the North Bay Mall property. There are numerous service establishments in the nearby area: restaurants, motels, coffee shops, drug stores, movie theatre and did I mention coffee shops. Moreover, the parking lot is already paved. The NMBY people (and there are sure to be some) may want to appeal this logical decision to the OMB but that agency is under review and we may be saved that delay.
Do not worry about the 30 million dollar price tag for the Aurora Twin Pads arena. When we apply for an Ontario grant the bureaucrats at Queen’s Park will think it is for the city of Aurora, not for some unknown town in Northern Ontario, and they will quickly agree on the grant. We can always subtitle the fancy electronic sign outside the new arena with West Ferris or Home of Ringette right under a moving picture of the Aurora Borealis. Let’s say the newly elected Provincial government kicks in 5 million.
The Feds are not big on anything that reminds them of skating on thin ice, so we cannot count on them for more than a token amount: say for the seating or maybe one change room. The Aurora name might trick them too - they like funding the far north. Maybe a Go-Fund-Me drive might pay for another change room or two. The new Casino should be good for another 5 million. If the City has two or three million hidden in Reserves, we would be halfway there.
The thing is, we are not building the Aurora for most of our current citizens. Probably 60% of us will never set foot inside the new twin pads. We are building it for the future citizens of the city. Young skaters not yet born will use the Aurora 20 or 25 years from now. Let them and their parents pay for it. Like they will be paying for other infrastructure we are building and repairing for them. (Just kidding – that’s backwards thinking.)
Of course, if Council had not called that 25 million dollar debt from North Bay Hydro, we could have used the million dollars a year debt payments to cover a loan, as we did for the 20-year promise to the North Bay Regional Hospital. All we would have had to do was find a favourable lender, say a bank who might like the naming rights for one of the pads, to set up an easy payment plan for the Aurora.
Another option would be to create an Ice Rink Stabilization Fund. While some cities have Housing Stabilization Funds for the homeless, we could start one for the rinkless. For a small special levy, we could all donate a few dollars on a special line of our property tax bill (like we did for the Waterfront). Already I hear objections against paying more taxes. The City could exempt you from the Stabilization Fund if: you have no, nor never will have, relatives or friends who might use the Aurora; have no relatives or friends who work within a designated area of the Aurora (30 kilometers); don’t give a damn about the quality of life for our future generations; are a Toronto Maple Leafs fan; and live outside the urban service area. All conditions must apply for an exemption.
If a Stabilization Fund seems foreign to you think about that fifty cents extra on your ticket that you contribute every time you visit the Gardens. In any case, the financial gurus at City Hall will find ways to fund the new ice pads. Someone will mention Build it and they will come, like they did for the recreation park in the swamp.
These are just a few whimsical ideas of how we can fund the new ice pads. Just saying.
