Gas taxes may help pay for Thunder Bay event centre

Most of the federal money Thunder Bay is seeking for the proposed event centre will would come from gas taxes, according to the city's latest financial plan for the project.

Administration said new regulations now allow cities to use the money for cultural, tourism and sport infrastructure.

Doing so won't sacrifice the upkeep of roads, Coun. Joe Virdiramo said.

“That does not deter anything away from the infrastructure needs as far as roads or anything like that,” he said.

“We will still continue to refurbish roads, rehabilitate and resurface and whatnot.”

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The city originally thought that federal money would come from Infrastructure Canada and FedNor. The change was revealed in a report from administration released on Wednesday.

Waiting on province, feds to respond

The city is seeking approval to use slightly more than $21 million in gas taxes over 10 years.

Using that money on the event centre would mean the city won't use it in areas like sanitary sewer, water, and transit.

Funding for those areas will come from utility rates and other government infrastructure funds, city manager Tim Commisso said, adding that there are 20 year plans in place for the management of water and wastewater that he said are sustainable and don't rely on gas tax money.

The city also expects to receive more in gas taxes over the next decade than it has in the past 10 years, the financial plan stated, meaning the city is forecasting it can also spend more on roads and storm sewers.

The finances for the event centre are part of a report that council will discuss and vote on next week.

The report recommends council approve moving to the design and construction phase, on the condition that federal and provincial dollars are coming. The city is seeking a total of $23 million from Ottawa, and $36 million from the provincial government.

City officials are still waiting for both levels of government to respond, which they hope will happen in April.

In its report, administration said it acknowledges that, should the federal and/or provincial governments not confirm funding, the project "may need to be placed on hold indefinitely."

Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs said he wants councillors to examine the report and ask tough questions at their discussion meeting next week.

Hobbs noted the event centre project is about building a city.

"When we build a city, it's not just about roads,” he said.