Campaign to shoot down City’s $32 million loan fails

The public has spoken, but not loud enough to halt a $32 million dollar loan proposal by the City of Prince George.

Earlier this year, the City proposed the loans for 11 different projects, including over $10 million for the Aquatic Centre Renewal and Upgrade and $5 million for Critical Street Light and Traffic Signal Replacement.

In order to stop them, 10% of the voting population would have had to voice opposition via the Alternative Approval Process, but the votes came up well short on all projects.

In each category, just over half of the required signatures were handed in.

The City of Prince George received the following total number of valid Elector Response Forms for each proposed bylaw:

1. Equipment Financing Bylaw No. 9007, 2019: 2,913
2. Mausoleum Expansion Phase 2 Bylaw No. 9008, 2019: 2,825
3. Civic Facility Roofs Replacements 2019 – 2022 Bylaw No. 9009, 2019: 2,850
4. Aquatic Centre Renewal and Upgrade Bylaw No. 9010, 2019: 2,901
5. Masich Stadium Amenities Refurbish Bylaw No. 9011, 2019: 2,903
6. Ron Brent Park Redevelopment Phase 2 & 3 Bylaw No. 9012, 2019: 2,967
7. 14th Avenue Upgrades (Irwin Street to Freeman Street) Bylaw No. 9013, 2019: 2,897
8. Domano and St. Lawrence Signalization Bylaw No. 9014, 2019: 2,756
9. Highway 16 West Frontage – Heyer Road to Henry Road Bylaw No. 9015, 2019: 2,795
10. Goose Country Road Culvert Replacement Bylaw No. 9016, 2019: 2,850
11. Critical Street Light and Traffic Signal Replacement Bylaw No. 9017, 2019: 2,797

At their June 10th meeting, City Council will run a final vote to follow through with the loans, which will result in a 2.3% tax increase each year for the next twenty years.

“My first thought is that there is without question a group of folks in the community, some 3000, that came out and exercised their vote that we need to understand. We need to understand that they have concerns about these bylaws,” said Mayor Lyn Hall to MyPGNow.

He has so far been in favour of all of the bylaws proposed, and pending any new information, expects that he will be voting in favour of them.

Phil Beaulieu, the founder of a Facebook group opposition group called Enough Already! City of PG AAP,  has made statements on the process itself, saying it is designed to be difficult. Hall had this to say on that:

“I don’t agree with that. We provided in excess of 30 days for people to come out to vote. We had it set up here at City Hall from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm, five days a week.”

“I think we gave ample opportunity to folks. Perhaps the cumbersome part for people was to exercise their vote against all 11 bylaws they had to fill out 11 forms, but we’re required to do that. We had no option there.”