Brampton approves controversial plan for downtown
Published 38 minutes ago
San Grewal Urban Affairs Reporter
A divisive mood dominated Brampton City Council Monday night as councillors voted to go ahead with one of the largest and most controversial projects it has ever undertaken.
After residents expressed frustration over secrecy surrounding the downtown redevelopment bid process and the fact it only generated two final proposals to reshape the city’s core, it was council’s turn to ask questions.
Councillors voted 7-3 in favour of the Dominus bid, which was selected by staff over Morguard’s bid, but said they were unclear about many aspects of last week’s staff report on the winning proposal.
“I don’t understand the finances of this,†Councillor Grant Gibson said, questioning why the city seems to have so little involvement in the construction process and financing.
The Dominus redevelopment will cost about $205 million for the first phase of the plan (for a city hall expansion and parking spaces), including leasing costs over 25 years before ownership is handed over to the city.
The final two phases would cost about $155 million, the city estimates, and include construction of office, retail space, a new library and more parking.
Councillor John Sanderson asked whether Dominus is obligated to complete those phases under the proposal being voted on. There was no clear answer, though city staff said the only obligation being voted on was for the first phase.
But when Councillor Elaine Moore later asked for more clarity, staff said the proposal being voted on was indeed a commitment to Dominus for the final two phases, with no definite idea of the price, financing or timeline.
Council also voted with almost no knowledge of two other original bids, one of which was disqualified. The intentional secrecy was a result of the “competitive dialogue process†the city used for the bid.
That process is supposed to protect cities from simply going with the lowest bidder and then being subjected to cost overruns because the selected bid was unrealistic. The secrecy is an intended part of the process to create the required “tension†between bidders to guarantee their best bid.
Moore questioned why the same person who recommended the competitive dialogue process to the city, an expert who widely endorses it in his professional capacity, was also paid by the city to be the “fairness†expert to evaluate how well the process worked. “It seems like a conflict of interest,†she said.
Staff replied that they did not have many options. The “fairness†expert gave a glowing report of how the process worked.
After Moore said she could not ask taxpayers to pay for such a large project with so many unanswered questions, she asked the vote be deferred. The motion was defeated.
Brampton resident Doug Bryden who works in the development industry and has overseen major projects in downtown Toronto such as the Eaton Centre and Royal Bank Plaza, was critical of the proposal, the lack of transparency behind the process, the high price and lack of clarity about the financing.
“The process used by the city (to attract proposals) was so new, so convoluted and so complex that developers decided to take a pass.â€
He noted that only three companies submitted bids and only two were considered. “That’s not good enough for Brampton’s downtown.â€
However, Don Naylor, Brampton Downtown Development Corp. board chair, lauded the bid, urging council to “recognize the merits of this proposal.â€
One issue is how the proposal will be paid for. City treasurer Mo Lewis admitted the $7.2 million annual financing of the project in future budgets, has not been accounted for. He said that will have to be worked out beginning with planning for the 2012 budget, when payments would start.
Bryden noted that the city’s original call for proposals stated the project should result in minimal to no tax increases for residents. He questioned where the extra $7.2 million a year for 25 years would be found in the city’s future budgets.
Councillor John Hutton also favoured deferring the vote to answer questions. Considering the winning bid was only revealed through a partial report by city staff released less than a week earlier, other councillors also suggested that given the scale and cost of the project the vote should be postponed.
But Mayor Susan Fennell was determined to go forward, telling Hutton, three hours after the meeting began, that staff were present to answer all his questions so a vote could take place. She later said the project wouldn’t increase taxes, offering no idea how it would be paid for other than staff will figure things out.
Moore also questioned if a legal opinion should be sought on undue influence. She mentioned campaign contributions from Dominus, its sister companies or individuals directly linked to the company, given to some council members. Fennell received campaign contributions from individuals linked to the company, but staff replied there is no evidence of any undue influence.
And the poor local representation when it comes to voting. Everyone is the same across the province anyway right? And who cares about people who have jobs at the municipal level anyways? hmmm.... I think we might lose some local direction, local policy and local control. Personally I would be against this idea just to save a buck as it would cause more problems than it would solve.
