Busy Night Coming For Saint John Council

It is gearing up to be a busy Monday night at Saint John Common Council with a number of big items on the agenda.

Council will consider an updated capital budget which includes millions in funding to redevelop Fundy Quay, also known as the former Coast Guard site.

Last week, the provincial and federal governments announced a combined $15 million toward the redevelopment. The city’s contribution is just over $9 million.

The funding will go towards necessary infrastructure work to make the site development-ready. This includes contaminated soil remediation, site re-grading and seawall refurbishments at the site, along with the redesign of Loyalist Plaza and the extension of Harbour Passage around Fundy Quay.

Council will also consider a $1.4-million proposal to revitalize Loyalist Plaza and extend Harbour Passage along Fundy Quay.

Three proponents submitted RFPs to the city and the proposal by Glenn Group Landscape Architects and Planners was ranked highest by the evaluation team.

Also on Monday’s agenda is a finance committee recommendation to put $1 million into a reserve fund to reduce the tax rate by 1.5 cents in 2022.

The city received the extra revenue after the province moved to eliminate the property assessment gap, known as the P-Gap.

Councillors will also vote on the third reading of a bylaw that would see fines for most parking infractions in the city rise by $10. The exception will be parking in an accessible parking space, which is not under the city’s jurisdiction.

Monday night’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. and will be streamed live online.