Proposed $8M town hall project in rural N.B. community prompts comparison to Taj Mahal
Some residents concerned about the impact new municipal building would have on their taxes
A controversy has developed in the newly amalgamated community of Sunbury-York South over plans for a new municipal building.
Opposition erupted after a move by council to ask the Municipal Capital Borrowing Board, a provincial government entity, for pre-approval to borrow up to $8 million for the project, located in a community south of Fredericton.
A meeting to hear public input was to take place Tuesday, however, the application was withdrawn Friday, said Mayor David Hayward.
At that point, many people in the community had already expressed anger and concern about it online.
The dollar figure prompted some residents to liken the proposed structure to the Taj Mahal and to worry about the impact on their taxes.
While acknowledging that a new building would likely cause taxes to increase, Hayward said his belief is that much of the opposition has been based on misinformation.
"It was never anyone's intention to build an $8-million building for four staff," he said, describing that notion as "absurd."
"That would outrage anyone, and I can certainly understand people's frustrations with that," he said.
What is actually being considered is a building that may incorporate additional facilities or services, he said.
A new fire hall, for example, might be worth the extra tax dollars if it results in savings on insurance, he suggested.
There is no office space available in Sunbury-York South, said Hayward, noting it's currently renting municipal offices in Oromocto.
Objections to the size of the new building are also premature, said Hayward, as no plans have been drawn up.
It could end up being a lot cheaper to build than the $8-million approval sought from the borrowing board, he added, likening the process to getting pre-approved for a mortgage before house shopping.
"It seemed a little bit over the top to just land us with $8-million worth of debt without having more consultation about it," said resident Jeanne Clarke-Walker, who first learned of the plan a few weeks ago, after someone shared an article about it on social media.
Clarke-Walker said she subsequently sought information on the municipality's website, but couldn't find any.
She was one of several Sunbury-York South residents who wrote to CBC's Information Morning Fredericton to express concerns about the plans for the building.
"I personally don't see the need to spend that sort of money," she wrote.
In a subsequent phone interview, Clarke-Walker said she and her husband are pensioners and choose to live in a rural area specifically for its low tax rate.
"We don't have a lot of disposable income that we can add additional taxes to," she said.
She also took issue with a perceived lack of transparency.
"I'd just like to know what we're paying for," she said.
"I believe that their future plans for the community need to be fully discussed before we launch ourselves into that much debt."
She and several other residents also expressed concern that 30 acres of land may have already been purchased for the project without public notice or opportunity to object.
The mayor had not yet responded to a message from CBC to confirm that as of publication time, but the incurrence of a long-term debt of $300,000 is mentioned in the minutes of a council meeting in September.
Another Sunbury-Yorth South resident, Carolyn Nickerson said she felt council had been misled into trying to develop municipal infrastructure similar to its westerly neighbour, Hanwell.
"We are in a completely different tax bracket and population size," said Nickerson, who also noted concerns about increased spending on the chief administrative officer's salary and bylaw enforcement.
Nickerson and some others who wrote in said rather than a big new municipal building, they'd prefer to have the municipality renovate an existing recreation centre in Rusagonis, which is one of the communities amalgamated into Sunbury-York along with Nasonworth, Beaverdam, Charters Settlement, Waasis, and Tracyville.
There is still plenty of time for community consultation, said the mayor.
Input will be gathered over the next six months, he said.
Despite the objections and the withdrawal of the borrowing board application, preliminary work for a new building is still going ahead, said Hayward.
An alternate source of provincial funding has been secured to begin the planning process, he said.
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