Moncton councillor defends Avenir Centre spending, understates cost by millions

A Moncton city councillor says he could have been clearer in his defence of municipal spending on the Avenir Centre that understated how much the city spent on the project by several million dollars.

A lengthy Facebook post by Coun. Pierre Boudreau statedthe total cost of the centre was $103 millionby excluding the adjacent plaza. The mayor and city financial reports pegged the cost at $113.2 million, which includes the plaza and other costs.

Boudreausaidhe drafted the post to rebut "naysayers" who, he said,haven't been truthful about the cost of the 8,800-seat downtown arena that opened last month.

Boudreau wrote that while "some maintain that the City's taxpayers are on the hook for over $100,000,000 and that such amount will be a fiscal burden, the truth is that the City's total investment in the new Entertainment Centre is $39,000,000 financed by a long term debenture through the NB Capital Borrowing Board."

While the city did borrow $39 million, that doesn't represent the total spending by the city.

That figuredoesn't include $12.7 million the city spent from areserve fund to buy the former Highfield Square mall property. Boudreaualso omitted$7.2 million for the plaza and additions to the centre and$351,000 for a consultant to begin a $5-million fundraising campaign.

Boudreau in an interview said the post "could have been phrased differently" to make it clear he was only referring to theamount the city borrowed over the long-term.

Boudreaudoesn't include the plaza costs with the centre, calling ita "completely separate project" that could have been built elsewhere.

Boudreau's post also doesn't mention spending councillors and city reports have directly linked to the events centre, but that aren't part of the official tally.

Other costs

Council approved spending $573,000 for cosmetic upgrades of the CN subway overpass.

It also approved adding two more Trackless MT7 sidewalk snow clearing machines to the city fleet at a cost of $118,583 each, in part to speed snow removal near the centre.

CBCNews requested an interview with Gregg Houser, Moncton's deputy treasurer and controller, about the city's spending on the centre, but an interview was not provided Wednesday.

UFCsubsidy 'wise investment'

Boudreau's post followed a decision by council to subsidize the bid to bring an Ultimate Fighting Championship event to the Avenir Centre. The decision drew criticism from Coun. Paul Pellerin and members of the public.

Boudreau called it "a wise decision to invest $100,000 to bring attention to our new venue," though council approved spending $150,000. The additional amount comes from an arms-length committee funded by the city and province.

His post saidhe believes "stating the correct facts" is the proper thing to do when there are "naysayers being so intent on misleading the public for political gain or for some unknown reason."

Boudreau said in an interview he wrote the post after seeing comments on social media that were "erroneous," so he wanted to set the record straight.

After he spoke toCBC, hereworded the post.

Boudreau said the centre will spur more downtown development.

"There are big things happening in Moncton because of the Avenir Centre," he said. "I see it as an investment."

He speculateddevelopment "will most likely occur sooner rather than later" on the block where the Crowne Plaza hotel is located across from the centre. He declined to elaborate on whether he knows about specific plans.

Short-term financing

Beyond borrowing $39 million, the city's plan to pay for construction of the centre included a $21-million loan from the provincial government, $19.3 million from the federal government, fundraising $5 million, land sales and money from reserve accounts.

The city paid $90.8 million to Bird Construction Inc., the main contractor in a consortium the city picked to design, to build and operate the centre.

City staff told council in March the city would use short-term financing to pay a portion of that bill because not all of the money was in place.

That includes city's fundraising campaign to cover $5 million of the total cost.

The city officially launched the campaign in May, announcing $1.6 million had already been raised.

The city has yet to officially provide an updated figure, though Boudreau saidit stood at more than $1.8 million this week.