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1993-11-29_Minutes_(2) Mr. Rodgers confirmed that, if difficulties arise during negotiations, Council has the full unobstructed authority to turn it down. During discussion the Deputy Mayor suggested that Council should let the legislation proceed and, if and when enacted, reconsider the letters received in this regard and meet with the Irving family; and the initial motion to receive and file the letter from the United Empire Loyalists' Association was changed to that above. Question being taken, the motion was carried with Councillor Landers voting "nay". On motion of Councillor Chase Seconded by Councillor Knibb RESOLVED that the letter from Joan Pearce registering her objection to the intention of the City of Saint John to apply for the enactment of a private bill for the erection of a statue in the Loyalist Burial Ground in memory of the late Kenneth Colin Irving, and requesting an opportunity to express her concerns to Common Council in open session on Monday, December 6, 1993 -- be received and filed and Mrs. Pearce be advised that she will be given an opportunity to approach Council when the matter is considered further. Question being taken, the motion was carried. On motion of Councillor Landers Seconded by Councillor Trites RESOLVED that Common Council request the Provincial Legislature and the mover of the proposed amendment to the 1848 Act to delay consideration of the matter until the Spring Sitting of the Legislature until Council has had all the input in this regard. (Councillor Rogers withdrew from the meeting.) Question being taken, the motion was lost with Deputy Mayor McAlary and Councillors Chase, Gould, Knibb, A. Vincent and M. Vincent voting "nay". On motion of Councillor Knibb Seconded by Councillor Chase RESOLVED that the letter from Saint John Fire Fighters' Association, Local Union No. 771, I.A.F.F., opposing the intention of Common Council to make application to the Province to repeal the City of Saint John Pension Act and to seek authority to have the City Pension Plan administered by City by-law; and advising that the Pension Trustees nor the members of the Association were ever notified of such intent by the City of Saint John, which appears to be in violation of Section 24(1) of the Pension Benefits Act of the Province of New Brunswick, and that it trusts that the City will reconsider its intention and continue with the present system of administration -- be received and filed. (Councillor Rogers re-entered the meeting.) During discussion Mr. Rodgers re-iterated his opinion to Council on November 22 that the action taken recently by Council did not constitute a violation of the section referred to in the above letter, and that, if the Municipalities Act is amended to permit municipalities to enact their pension regulations by by-law, further action would have to be taken by Council, before it enacts a by-law, to have the current Pension Act repealed, which would have to go back to the Provincial Legislature as a private members bill; and explained that it is at that point that it mayor may not be an issue with respect to following various procedures in the sense of what the Fire Fighters' Association is referring to as possible violations. Councillor Knibb, a Pension Board Trustee, advised that he met with the Retirees' earlier this date at which time he attempted to assure them that there is no plot by the City to take away any of the security of the City's Pension Fund; and Mr. Wilson, Treasurer of the Pension Board, commented on the matter from the point of view of two or three major unsuccessful undertakings, at great cost to the Pension Plan, to try to get amendments made to the City of Saint John Pension Act, in that it was incumbent to look at some other way of administering the Plan, and one of these ways, which is done by other municipalities and being suggested in this case, is to request that the Municipalities Act be amended to permit Council to deal with amendments to the Pension Plan through a by-law, rather than having to pursue amendments through the Provincial Legislature, and that this request does not affect the City's current Act. Question being taken, the motion was carried. On motion of Councillor Knibb Seconded by Councillor Chase RESOLVED that the letter from The Saint John District Labour Council expressing concern that no meetings have been held by the committee struck in accordance with Common Council resolution of August 3 to deal with the closure of Labatt's Brewery, and the Brewery is scheduled to close on December 10; and requesting that a meeting take place with those identified in the subject Council resolution -- be received and filed and the City Manager be instructed to respond to the Saint John District Labour Council explaining that its best interests have been looked after. Councillor Knibb initially proposed a motion to refer the above letter to the City Manager, such motion changed to that above following Mr. Totten's explanation that the morning after Council instructed him to get in touch with the Saint John District Labour Council he received a call from The Honourable Jane Barry who indicated the action she had already taken with respect to establishing a committee to deal with the issue of Labatt's, and that former Mayor Elsie Wayne and he attended the first meeting of that group which included representatives from the Greater Saint John Economic Development Commission, the Provincial Department, several representatives from the Province, the Board of Trade, and representatives of both the Labatt's employee group and of Labatt's itself; and he advised that, at that time, a number of working committees were struck and, since that time, the Greater Saint John Economic Development Commission has a sub-committee looking for potential uses for the Labatt's building. Mr. Totten made the observation that, following the meeting, he reported to Council that he was not going to take any further action on establishing the committee in question because the real challenge is to have the resources available to bring another party to the table with respect to the future utilization of the Labatt's building, which is really where the Province and Labatt's and others are involved, and there are many people seeking alternative uses for the plant. Question being taken, the motion was carried. On motion of Councillor Knibb Seconded by Councillor Chase RESOLVED that the letter from The Anti- Pornography Coalition expressing concern about the recent establishment of a new adult video store on Waterloo Street on the basis of the Association's belief that the presence of adult video stores and the sale of pornographic material in the community is posing a serious threat to families, teenagers and its neighbours in general; and asking Common Council to review the current situation and the growing menace of pornography in the City and go on record as opposing the sale and distribution of pornography and give responsible leadership by enacting policies which would restrict those who would sell and distribute this type of material in this community -- be received and filed. Councillor Chase asked what legal right the City has to regulate the above-type of business to which Mr. Rodgers expressed the opinion that, if the question is dealing with the moral questions, Council does not have the authority to regulate that; and advised that, if Council so wished, he could review what is occurring in other parts of Canada and determine if it would be possible for the City to restrict businesses of this type in certain areas through a by-law. Chief Sherwood advised that the above type of business would be the subject of scrutiny and investigation by the Liquor and Morality Squad and that, to date, he is unaware of any problems with this particular institution in the City, other than some concern being raised over its advertising and location; and, with respect to the age limit, spot checks and surveillance could be done and the Department would respond to any complaint as well, if a citizen felt that a person in the business establishment was, in fact, under 18 years of age. Question being taken, the motion was carried with Deputy Mayor McAlary and Councillors Gould and M. Vincent voting "nay". On motion of Councillor Knibb Seconded by Councillor Coughlan RESOLVED that the letter from Mr. Colin Whitcomb, Director of First Night Saint John, updating Council on the status of the First Night Festival of the Arts in Saint John since the Board's presentation to Council in early autumn; thanking Council for its support of the Festival; and advising that, while considerable progress has been made on all aspects of the Festival by the end of October, it is the opinion of the First Night Board of Directors that it has insufficient time to proceed with a First Night Festival for 1993, and has contacted the International Alliance of First Night Festivals in Boston and advised that First Night Saint John will hold its inaugural Festival in 1994, not 1993 -- be received and filed with regret that First Night will not be initiated this year in Saint John. Deputy Mayor McAlary expressed the understanding that the First Night Board did not have the time necessary to arrange all of the acts at this time but is looking forward to having the event in 1994. Question being taken, the motion was carried. Consideration was given to notes from the Chairman of The Market Square Corporation reporting on the final costing for the project budgets administered by the Corporation for Harbour Station, Council having approved budgets in the amounts of $17,000,000 for construction of the building proper, $1,620,500 for the Prime Consultant's contract, $150,000 for project management fees of The Market Square Corporation, $165,000 for design and outside services, and $16,200 for design/cost review, for total project budgets of $18,951,700 under the administration of The Market Square Corporation. Messrs. H. Meinhardt, Chairman; J. Shackleton, General Manager; and S. Appleby, Assistant General Manager, of The Market Square Corporation, were present at the meeting, and Mr. Meinhardt addressed Council, and explained that the final cost for the building as originally conceived will be $18,726,436, or 98.8% of the budget, with changes made during the construction process to improve the building and its operation, including such items as the private club area, finishing of concession areas, and services necessary for some of the operating equipment, such as the score clock, at a total cost of $1,013,841, with the operating cost savings for these improvements yielding a net present value of $1,042,000; and requested Council's approval of an increase in the original budget of $18,951,700 to $19,740,277, an amount of $788,577, or 4.2% over the Corporation's budget. In response to Council queries, Mr. Meinhardt commented on the changes in the original design and the associated additional costs and anticipated revenue, with regard to private boxes whereby, rather than leaving the area open for finishing by the purchasers of the private boxes, the area was finished to accommodate a club area for which citizens would buy memberships and the Commission would operate on behalf of the City, and two private booths; and, concerning the concession area which was to be left open for lease and completion at the cost of the concessionaires with water and electricity to be provided, the tendering of the concession area and subsequent engagement of Ogden Concessionaires to look after all the concessions, with the agreement being that the City would complete the areas for Ogden and Ogden would provide $500,000 worth of equipment for the areas to revert to the City in seven years and also the City gets a return of 20% of the income of anything sold in the concessions. Councillor Gould expressed the opinion that there was no justification whatsoever for the Corporation to have presented this item in Committee of the Whole earlier this date as it is not a legal document and does not involve personalities, but is a continuation of the motion adopted by Council on September 27; reiterated his objection, as expressed in Committee of the Whole earlier this date, to have been given supporting documents less than an hour before Council was asked to make a decision concerning items running into over $100,000; and asked why the Corporation did not apprise Council on September 27, when Council approved an amount of $300,000, that this did not pay for all the outstanding costs but that there were substantial overruns on the project, and also how the Corporation could submit to Council on this date supporting documents which have not been approved by the Board; to which Mr. Meinhardt replied that the Corporation reported to Council all along during the construction of the project, which should be documented in the minutes, and that the Corporation did not need the Board's approval of the documents submitted to Council earlier this date. On motion of Councillor Knibb Seconded by Councillor Landers RESOLVED that Common Council approve an increase in the original budget of $18,951,700 to $19,740,277 administered by The Market Square Corporation for the Saint John Regional Exhibition Centre. Question being taken, the motion was carried with Councillors Gould and A. Vincent voting "nay". Consideration was given to a report from the City Manager submitting a schedule which compares the budget for the Saint John Regional Exhibition Centre with the estimated costs to complete as prepared on November 29, 1993; and explaining that, while the schedule shows that the total project is $648,848, or 2.6% over budget, it must be realized that the City has obtained much more in the completed project than anticipated when the budget was prepared; for instance, the scoreboard alone will have a final cost of $455,000, as approved by Council on the basis of its revenue producing potential; the total land cost includes more land (i.e. the escarpment) than was necessary for the Centre which will, no doubt, be a valuable asset to the City in years to come; and, in addition, there are many enhancements made to the facility which will be more adequately explained by members of The Market Square Corporation. Mr. Wilson highlighted the above report, and expressed the opinion that, while the total costs are over budget by approximately $649,000, the value for that can be found and it simply was not a matter of costs being incurred with no benefit seen for them; and, with regard to financing from the other two levels of government, advised that the Province contributed $12,400,000 toward the structure and $800,000 towards the cost of Station Street, and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency gave a grant of $250,000, and also that one source of revenue did not materialize the way the City had expected, that being a million dollars from the business community with the idea that certain pieces of equipment might be donated; however, the revenue being received from the outlying municipalities, the scoreboard and the other enhancements, should have a long-term impact much more than financing of the million dollars. On motion of Councillor Coughlan Seconded by Councillor M. Vincent RESOLVED that the above report from the City Manager be received and filed. Question being taken, the motion was carried. On motion of Councillor Knibb Seconded by Councillor Trites RESOLVED that this meeting be adjourned. Question being taken, the motion was carried.