Mayor Bratina agrees to live discussion with Spectator

After being scrutinized by The Spectator for his lack of availability by Emma Reilly and Andrew Dreschel, Mayor Bob Bratina is stepping up to the plate and offering citizens to join in on a live discussion on the Pan Am Games tomorrow on The Spectator. (Thursday September 1^st at 1100AM)

 

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Q & A with Mayor Bob Bratina

Mayor Bratina answered his critics from The Spectator by offering a half hour live discussion to residents. Below are the questions from residents and answers from the Mayor himself.

Comment From Nic  

How has amateur sport benefited from all this ? The only tanganble seems to be the removal of Brian Timmins stadium for a parking lot .. Where is the benefit? Will the 'new' Ivor Wynne be available to users of Brian Timmins for a reduced cost or should they look to Oakville or some other out of town destination ?

BB: Thanks for the question. First of all, not to be nitpicky, the stadium was named after the famous Brian Timmis, not the northern Ontario town. The benefit will come in large part with the introduction of soccer and related training and game opportunities on a FIFA approved soccer surface. I can't speak to costing right now, but rest assured that more soccer fields are in our future, not less.

Comment From Borrelli  

Mr. Mayor, after your very public support for a brand new, $100M+publicly funded stadium for a private company, don't you think it would be only fair for that private company to contribute to the Pan-Am legacy by filling the relatively small funding gap we need to have a world-class Velodrome?

BB: We are in fact looking for other partners but the one you're referring to is already participating in a substantial way. Certainly Mr. Young, whose family has contributed to Hamilton since their arrival in the 1800's is approachable on any community-building initiative. Whether there's more money available for the Velodrome from the Youngs is not a question of fairness but of practicality.

Comment From Guest  

As a member of the National Track Cycling team, I would just like to say that having a velodrome so close to home in Canada would be great for cycling in Canada. Right now the team is based at the only world-class velodrome in North America in LA. It is unfortunate that Canadian athletes cannot even train in their own country for lack of facilities. Does Hamilton not see the mutual benefits of possessing such a unique facility? Canadian athletes can train at home, while the City can host international events, only possible at one other location in the entire continent!

BB: We certainly do see the benefits of having such a facility and we've done everything we can to achieve one. You'll recall the efforts made by Senator Braley to make the 2003 World Cycling event a reality, so there is a broad understanding in Hamilton about how cycling can make us a better city.

Comment From Brian Henley  

What do you say to those who feel that Hamilton's reputation has been damaged by the divisive stadium location debate, and now the turmoil regarding velodrome financing>

BB: The observation is certainly correct about how this was handled in the past. The fact that in 12 short days we resolved the problem and that we are now getting a completely new stadium has received excellent coverage in the national media, including my appearances on the FAN radio. The only damage seems to be occurring among a small group of dissident local residents. There is no turmoil regarding the funding gap. It exists and we will as we did with the stadium try to resolve it.

Comment From Glen  

On the Bill Kelly show, you stated that it would cost $35-40 million for cleaning up the West Harbour lands. However, the cost to remediate the West Harbour has already been studied and estimated at $3-5 million. Why are you citing unsupported figures on the radio?

BB: The clean-up costs of West Harbour have been given as a range of between $3 million and $37 million dollars. This is why I asked staff at the GIC to come forward with the extra costs required at the West Harbour site, including remediation and infrastructure requirements. I'm with you. Let's get the real numbers. The Waterfront Trust made an assumption when building a new rink. They were shocked to learn that clean-up would require an extra $400,000 (four hundred thousand) dollars on a fraction of an acre. We wouldn't want to make the same mistake would we?

Comment From Hammer  

What is the plan with the West Harbour now that the whole stadium and velodrome took and 180 and left this great location. Are there still talks of an amphitheater or something else there?

BB: This valuable location has been the subject for many years of our Setting Sail plan. Waterfront property should be among the highest revenue generating lands in the City's inventory. Public use of the land would be problematic because of the clean-up costs which a large commercial development could sustain, and provide the City with much-needed tax revenue.

Comment From Bob  

Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mitchell's comments in the Spec certainly eases my mind regarding IW! Mr. Murray said that the Veldrome should only go ahead if the Pan Am Future Fund can provide $500,000 annually to cover maintenance! Mr. Troop stated that no amount of money can be guaranteed! Shouldn't that lead to getting out of Veldrome business?

BB: It may well, but we're trying to make it happen, and I'm not ready to give up yet.

Comment From Demi Tasse  

The pedestrianization of Gore Park was a process initiated 3 years ago in an Aug 7 meeting of the COW. Since that time, buses have been relocated, parking meters have been installed, and businesses have closed (South Side) and relocated (Canada Trust). Why is this project, which would enhance our CBD and present our downtown core in a favourable light, now postponed until after the 2015 Games (7+ years into the 5-year Downtown Transportation Master Plan, incidentally)?

BB: It hasn't been postponed for any definite length of time. The Connaught was a big stumbling block because it is integral with the design, as those who worked on the plan would know. I would encourage those who are interested to actually visit the area, as I do many times a week and all all hours, to understand the problems that have to be resolved other than simple esthetics.

Comment From realitystar  

Mayor Bratina - who is the small group of "dissidents" you speak of? Shouldn't every citizen have a say in what is a pretty big deal in terms of city building? Hasn't council learnt anything from the past disasters of urban renewal - pushing mega-projects through in record speeds does not make for an engaged or happy citizen base. These are not "vigilantes" as you have stated in the media - these are concerned and informed taxpayers.

BB: Everyone has a right to their opinions, and some opinions are dissident when measured against the broad public expression. I am always in the public and constantly hear positive endorsement of how we're making progress in the City.
My record on past disasters is clear, that we need a new approach, and so far in a few short months Hamilton has seen the beginnings of a true renaissance