Thunder Bay council approves waterfront spending

Thunder Bay city councillors approved the operations budget Monday night for Prince Arthur's Landing. They also approved another $3.2 million contract to complete work at the waterfront.

Manager of Community Services Greg Alexander told council it will cost about $600,000 to operate Prince Arthur's Landing over the next year three times the cost of operating the old Marina Park.

"Thats for the grass cutting of the parks division, and the running of the events from recreation and culture," Alexander said. "That's pretty well the extent of that cost."

Councillor Andrew Foulds said he wanted to know if there is going to be more bang for the taxpayer's buck.

"If I bring my family down there, is there anything organized that I'm going to be able to participate in, like many of our other parks," he asked.

The answer was yes.

Alexander said, with more facilities, the city is trying to figure out what to offer to the public. He said the budget for operating the former Marina Park was much less, because it didn't have as much programming or maintenance.

"There will be a level of summer programming that isn't quite clear at the moment, because we are partially responding to the public demand," he said.

Councillors also approved a design-and-build contract to Manshield Construction, the main developer at the waterfront.

The $3.2 million job includes building a traffic circle, parking lot, landscaping, and fencing.

The work is scheduled for completion in about two years.