THUNDER BAY -- Shane Judge believes rebuilding what he calls the city’s “hard services” must take priority for the next council.
The mayoral candidate and former city hall reporter is confident money is available for a substantial overhaul of the city’s roads, sewers and waterlines.
Or there would be, if those funds are to be allocated properly.
“I think the real infrastructure are the roads, sewers and waterlines, not an event centre,” Judge said. “I would take some of the money that we now free up from not going ahead with the event centre and address the real problem of the condition of our roads.”
Just because council and administration has stopped the deficit from increasing doesn’t mean the work is done.
“We’re no longer falling behind every year with our road construction but we do have a large backlog,” he said.
Incumbent Keith Hobbs credits the current term of council for paving the way to revitalizing infrastructure, spending $252 million over four years for improvements.
Hobbs, who is seeking his second term in the mayor’s seat, labelled the infrastructure focus of this term as being “unprecedented” in the city’s history.
“That’s twice what the previous council did,” Hobbs said. “It used to be a $17 million year over year gap.”
Ensuring steady upkeep on infrastructure builds a solid base for the future of the city, something he argues hasn’t always been the case in Thunder Bay.
“Previous councils let the city crumble. This term of council has built it back up,” Hobbs said.
Former two-term mayor Ken Boschcoff wants to see infrastructure dollars have as much value as possible.
The at-large councillor was at the table for the record infrastructure spending and said great efficiency among the city and senior governments would go a long way in getting as much bang for the taxpayer buck as possible.
“That requires better planning and coordination not only between city departments but with provincial and federal governments. We know we’re getting good support from them but it’s how we apply that program and I think everybody agrees we could do much better,” Boshcoff said.
City hall watchdog Henry Wojak disputes the notion of there being an infrastructure deficit in Thunder Bay.
He said projects should be addressed as needed and said the approximately $6.9 million the city receives every year from the federal Gas Tax is a substantial boost.
“I would get rid of the Enhanced Infrastructure Renewal Plan,” Wojak said. “This infrastructure deficit is a red herring that was set up by administration.”
While second-time candidate Colin Burridge, who also ran in 2010, wasn’t sure about an infrastructure gap, he knows major improvements need to be made.
Those improvements also must be done in harmony when multiple projects are required in the same areas.
“For one thing our streets are horrible. They’ve been horrible for a long time and they need to be fixed. They have to work together to do it at the same time, never mind one year paving it and then doing sewage pipes the next year to rip it up again,” Burridge said.
Doug MacKay, who previously ran for mayor in 2006, believes the best way to provide infrastructure enhancements is to free up tax dollars that could be saved from other areas.
He suggests spending more to provide affordable housing throughout the city, which he believes will free up enough from emergency services to repair the city’s transportation network.
Either way, he acknowledges something must be done.
“Our roads are a mess right now,” MacKay said. “There has to be something allotted there.”
