Don Darling, the mayor of Saint John, chairs a Common Council meeting on Sept. 10, 2018. (Photo: Brad Perry/CHSJ News)
The mayor of Saint John is disappointed about the demise of the proposed regional ice strategy.
A motion to hire a consultant was defeated 5-4 during a Fundy Regional Service Commission meeting last week.
The move effectively killed the strategy and more than a year’s worth of work.
“I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to agree on just basic fundamentals that we would share the operating costs and do so in an efficient way that was fair and equitable to taxpayers,” said Darling after Monday’s council meeting.
The mayors of Rothesay, Quispamsis, Grand Bay-Westfield and St. Martins voted in favour of the motion. Darling sided with the local service districts in voting against it.
Darling said he could not support spending more taxpayer money to hire another consultant before they agree on basic fundamentals.
“We’ve had more than a year to agree on some principles,” he said. I’m not sure how a consultant is going to change that.”
Without a regional funding formula, Darling said council still plans on introducing a non-resident user fee for rinks — they are just waiting for more details from staff.
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