THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s city council may have hit pause on a letter sign project intended to boost tourism and city pride for its 50th anniversary.
Council originally approved the project, set to cost up to $150,000, in a contentious 7-6 vote on Sept. 14.
In ratifying that meeting’s decisions Monday night, however, some councillors sought to delay approval of the sign until 2021 budget deliberations early in the new year.
Due to an unnoticed technical glitch, a vote to delay the decision - initially declared passed by deputy city clerk Dana Earle - will require a revote at city council's next meeting. Intermittent connection problems meant Coun. Albert Aiello was not present for the vote, which has now been declared invalid.
"After further investigation, Microsoft reported significant global outage issues with all platforms including Outlook and MS Teams last evening," the city said in a statement released Tuesday evening.
Aiello's vote looks set to decide the issue, with his colleagues evenly split on the motion: councillors Bentz, Giertuga, Hamilton, Johnson, Oliver, and You voted to delay committing funds to the sign, while councillors Ch’ng, Foulds, Fraser, McKinnon, Ruberto, and Mayor Mauro voted against.
Modelled on famous versions elsewhere around the world – Toronto’s is estimated to be the city’s second-most-photographed landmark – the large three-dimensional sign was proposed for the waterfront as a symbol of pride and prime selfie spot.
Proponents argued the project could boost the city’s brand on social media and draw cross-country travellers – and some of their dollars – into the downtown.
However, its price tag raised objections from councillors nervous over the city’s financial state, especially in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city's Clean, Green and Beautiful Committee had initially budgeted $300,000 for a 50th anniversary “legacy project” redeveloping the four quadrants at May Street and the floodway – near the former boundaries of Port Arthur and Fort William – to include more trees and green space, pedestrian links, and public art.
A final decision on that project has been delayed due to COVID-19. The city trimmed $100,000 from the committee's budget in the spring to help defray COVID-19 costs.
Bentz cited a shortage of information on the letter sign – details on its design, location, and estimated life span, for example – as he sought to delay the decision Monday night.
“What I found last week is we just didn’t have enough answers – we had a lot of concepts and maybes,” he said, noting constituents had expressed concerns over the process.
A decision during the budget deliberation would still leave plenty of time to order the sign for the summer if approved, Bentz submitted.
Others found scrutiny over the project’s cost misplaced, saying it would have little to no impact on the coming budget and arguing the 50th anniversary was a milestone worth celebrating.
“This isn’t a 2021 budget item,” said Coun. Andrew Foulds. “This is an item we’ve planned for.”
“We have 10 community members that make up that [50th anniversary] committee,” said Foulds. “This is their work and their recommendation on how to spend money we put aside in years past. Yes, we could spend it on something else, but it is part of our strategic plan to celebrate our 50th year.”
The project was to use $100,000 in Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) revenues the city didn’t spend in 2018, along with a $50,000 contribution requested from the Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC). MAT revenue, levied as a surcharge on local hotel stays and other accommodation, is split evenly between the city and CEDC.
The CEDC has not yet considered the request, leaving project funding uncertain. A $25,000 contribution to the sign offered by the Clean, Green and Beautiful Committee is also now in question.
Coun. Rebecca Johnson, who sits on the committee, objected to the city's intention to use its funds to lower its ask of the CEDC to $25,000, saying the contribution was instead meant to supplement the project's budget.
“We really do need to celebrate something, and I’m hoping we can agree this is the project,” said Coun. Shelby Ch’ng, who sits on the anniversary committee.
“This was money from two years ago – this is essentially not tax money,” agreed Coun. Brian McKinnon.
Other councillors called that a distinction without a difference, noting the funds could be applied elsewhere in the municipal budget if council chose.
“This isn’t free money,” said Coun. Trevor Giertuga. “It is affecting the tax base, so let’s not kid ourselves.”
Council will reconsider the vote on delaying the letter sign decision to Oct. 5.
