Sherbrooke mayoral candidates have competing visions for revamping downtown core
Julia Page | CBC News | Posted: November 3, 2017 8:43 PM | Last Updated: November 3, 2017
Voters must choose between 5 contenders for city's top job, including incumbent Bernard Sévigny
The issue of what will replace a rundown hotel in downtown Sherbrooke could help determine the outcome of Sunday's municipal election in the regional centre of Quebec's Eastern Townships.
Sherbrooke's economy and the revitalization of the city core have emerged as key issues in the election campaign.
The Wellington Hotel, built in 1928, is set to be demolished by the end of the year.
Incumbent mayor Bernard Sévigny is backing a $50-million project called Well Inc. — two buildings and a multi-storey car park for 900 vehicles, to be built on the land where the old hotel stands.
Sévigny, who launched the project in 2016, promises to bring it to fruition if he's elected to a third mandate.
"Going door to door, what people want to talk about is employment, jobs, businesses and industries," Sévigny said.
Sévigny said Well Inc. will give the downtown district the push it needs to regenerate.
"It's a 10-year project. Wellington Sud is a neighbourhood where there have been a lot of problems for three decades," Sévigny said.
Controversial vision for downtown
Several candidates running against Sévigny are less enthusiastic about Sévigny's vision.
Sherbrooke didn't call for tenders on the project, signing an agreement with a private consortium made up of the FTQ labour federation's real-estate solidarity fund, SherWeb and Groupe Custeau.
That prompted outgoing councillor Jean-François Rouleau to file an official complaint with the Quebec Municipal Commission, alleging a breach of ethics.
Sévigny won't comment on the complaint while it's before the commission, but his opponents are questioning the project.
Hélène Pigot, a Université de Sherbrooke professor running under the banner of Sherbrooke Citoyen, said she's concerned by the plan to build nearly 900 parking spaces.
"We do not need that. As a city we pay a lot. So the way things are packaged are not very interesting for the town," Pigot said.
"I totally agree that we need to develop Wellington Sud, she needs love," Pigot said.
However, Pigot said community organizations and residents who live in the area need be included in the revitalization process.
New ideas for Sherbrooke's economy
Independent candidate Steve Lussier said he'll impose a moratorium on Well Inc., if elected.
"I want to look at the numbers and call for tenders. I want citizens to know we've done a good job," said Lussier, a mortgage development advisor and real estate developer.
He said he wants to bring his experience in finance to develop a major tourist attraction in the city, one that capitalizes on the region's unique characteristics.
"We need to develop sporting events, like mountain biking events on Mont Bellevue, to bring people here," Lussier suggested.
"Sherbrooke has the capacity of becoming the most prosperous city in Quebec."
Lack of transparency?
Retired industrial engineer Denis Pellerin is running for mayor for a third time.
He accuses Sévigny of failing to disclose information on several projects, including Well Inc.
Pellerin said the city's lack of transparency made it difficult even to do research for his campaign.
"I want to have business plans for every project to see where we're going," Pellerin said.
He plans to reorganize Sherbrooke Innopole, the paramunicipal corporation dedicated to economic development, to create more jobs in the city.
New visions of governance
Patrick Tétrault's campaign has focused on citizen participation, as well as political involvement.
Tétrault, a taxi driver and former missionary, said the city needs to support its local producers by creating buy-local initiatives and investing in new industries.
"The heart of my proposition is to bring more power to the people, a new form of organization as a citizen."
Tétrault said democratic institutions should be more innovative when it comes to citizen participation, for example, by developing online forims.
"If we find new ways of getting together and networking we can show the world how things can be done differently."
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