The heads of Morinville's chamber of commerce and Rotary club say that town council isn't being transparent enough when it comes to its plans for the new arena.
Morinville has grappled with the issue of how to replace the Ray McDonald Sports Centre since last year when it learned that the centre needed some $4.15 million in repairs.
While town council has committed to building a replacement arena by fall 2015, groups such as the Morinville Rotary Club have aggressively pushed for a regional rec-centre instead.
Morinville and District Chamber of Commerce president Simon Boersma wrote an open letter to town council last week on the arena issue co-signed by former town councillor and chamber vice-president Sheldon Fingler and Brian Reed, president of the Rotary Club of Morinville.
Titled "Morinville at a Crossroads," the letter questions town council's decision to allocate $13.75 million for an arena/rec-centre in its 2015 budget.
Said budget was set to go to third reading as this story went to press.
"There has been no detailed or concise information as to what we as a community and as taxpayers will receive for the $13.75 million," the letter states.
Just one open house on the project has been held so far, with the second scheduled for Thursday, the letter continues – two days after the budget was set to pass.
Boersma described that first open house as more of a "sales pitch" than a consultation and said it was short on details.
Although many of the current talks for the arena had to be secret as they dealt with land matters, Boersma said that council should have held more public talks and had a plan for the arena in place before putting it into the budget.
"When you build a house, before the builder comes with a price, don't you want to know what you're building?" he asked, rhetorically.
"What is happening with this $13.75 million? What are we getting for that?"
Boersma argued that council had taken a "shovel in the ground" attitude by committing to a fall 2015 date to open the arena.
"That means to me that decisions have been made on at least part of the building."
Reed said he was particularly concerned about how the operational costs of this arena/rec centre would be covered, noting the persistent losses posted by St. Albert's Servus Credit Union Place.
"Is there a business plan around there?" he asked.
Reed said he helped write this letter because the Rotary club has a strong interest in a regional recreation facility, and wants the planning for it to be open to the public.
"So far, it hasn't been."
Answers Thursday, says Holmes
Council has held focus groups and surveys over the last few months asking residents about what they want to see in the proposed arena.
Mayor Lisa Holmes said the $13.75 million in the budget for the arena was a placeholder – one that represents the theoretical maximum amount of cash the town could spend on the arena next year without raising taxes (the cash would come from grants). The actual expenditure will be set this spring along with the town's mill rate.
"We know that we're going to have to spend money on the rec-centre next year, but because we haven't done the open house and the consultation with the public to come up with exactly what they want to be in the facility, we don't know how much it's going to cost yet," Holmes said.
Council hasn't held any open houses since last April on the arena because it's been deep in talks to get the land for it, Holmes said. It wasn't possible to do any more planning for the arena without knowing the site restrictions on it.
"No other decisions have been made," she emphasized.
Thursday's open house on the arena will go through the wish list of items that residents have suggested for the arena/rec-centre and list some tentative costs, Holmes said. Council will ask residents what they want in the arena, how and how quickly they should build it, and how long they should keep the current Ray MacDonald arena running.
Council also plans to unveil the arena's location Thursday, she continued.
"We're committed to replacing the arena," Holmes said – anything other than that is open to debate.
Draft plans and prices for the arena/rec-centre will likely be available at an open house this January, Holmes said.
The open house is this Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre.
