Today's the day, folks. After months of speculation, council will be voting on the location of the Pan Am stadium. I've been told that today's meeting will be long and full of fireworks.
I thought I would keep you updated throughout the day on the blog - so check back in periodically to see how things are going.
9:47 - Chris Murray, the city manager, is kicking things off with a general presentation about the games.
Brad Clark has already voiced some opposition about the closed-door portion of the meeting later today. He argued that there was very little confidential information to discuss, so council should address it in public. The city's legal staff shot that suggestion down.
9:56 - City finance guy Rob Rossini says it would cost $18 to $20 million to keep Ivor Wynne going over the next 10 years. Beyond 10 years, the city could spend as much as $93 million. A new stadium will cost $128 million, $55 million of which will be city money.
10:15 - Some councillors are already on the offensive. Sam Merulla just asked a very pointed question about whether the Pan Am stadium will be area rated (like Ivor Wynne).
10:42 - The consultant from Deloitte just finished going through the details of his report. Lots of councillors are waiting to speak - but first out the gate is (you guessed it) Merulla. He's asking (none too politely) about how many days the stadium will be in use per year.
11:52 - Council members are still asking questions about the Deloitte report. We still have to get through public delegations, the debate, and the in-camera session.
Lloyd Ferguson just brought up the parking issue - he said his residents support the west harbour location, but "they wonder what we're smoking down here" that so few parking spots are on the table.
12:35 - Moving very, very slowly along. We're starting to hear public delegations right now. First up is Chamber of Commerce CEO John Dolbec, who is endorsing the West Harbour location. Other delegates included Andrew Iler from the National Cycling Centre, Tom Cooper from the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction and Kathy Drewitt from the downtown BIA.
2:08 - The public delegations are finally finished. At this rate, this meeting won't be finished until 7 p.m. Everyone is taking a much-needed half-hour break.
2:45 - We're back. Apparently some councillors have to leave around 3:30 - so in the interest of time, they're voting on the location of the stadium right now.
3:28 - We're very, very close to the vote. Councillor Brian McHattie just announced he will oppose the West Harbour spot because he's concerned his colleagues will push for more parking spots. He says his support of West Harbour is contingent on alternative means of transportation taking a leading role.
3:34 - It's official - the stadium will be at the West Harbour. Council has gone into camera for a deeper look at some remediation issues.
Here's the count:
For:
Collins
Duvall
Ferguson
Jackson
Morelli
Pasuta
Pearson
Powers
Whitehead
Eisenberger
Against:
Bratina
Clark
McCarthy
McHattie
Merulla
Absent:
MItchell
6:10 - Council is still in camera and I'm about ready to pack it in for the night. Stay tuned to tomorrow's paper for John Kernaghan's summary of the vote, my look at what's next for the velodrome and Andrew Dreschel's column about yesterday's meeting. Thanks for checking in!
Recent Comments