A number of casino-funded capital projects will be considered, completed or constructed in 2013.
Several years ago, the City of New Westminster negotiated funding known as "development assistance compensation" when a destination casino was approved in the city. The development assistance compensation (DAC) agreements identified five priorities and provided funding for each of those projects: Priority 1 - $5 million for parkland improvements in Queensborough; Priority 2 - $35 million for a multiuse civic facility in the downtown; Priority 3 - $6.2 million for expansion of facility at Queensborough Community Centre; Priority 4 - $10 million for a Queensborough/waterfront pedestrian bridge; and Priority 5 - $4 million for riverfront dock and facility improvements.
Parkland improvements in Queensborough were the first projects to be completed, and an expansion of the Queensborough Community Centre is nearing completion.
City administrator Paul Daminato said the project was slightly delayed because of issues relating to the soil at the Queensborough site.
The largest of the projects, the civic facility in downtown New Westminster, is among the city's top priorities for 2013.
"The civic centre construction is carrying on full speed ahead. That's a major project, keeping that going," Daminato said. "We are going to be recruiting for two management positions for the civic centre."
The city will hire a general manager of the civic centre, as well as a manager of convention services at the facility.
If the proposed budget is approved, the employees would be looking at the Anvil Centre's schedule and starting to get the word out that it will be available in 2014.
The city received permission from the province to complete the civic centre by December 2015, but is aiming to complete it by the spring of 2014.
Jim Lowrie, the city's director of engineering, said the city will do preliminary planning for a pedestrian bridge to Queensborough in 2013.
"It will probably happen by year-end," Lowrie said. "We are looking at some concepts, talking to the rail companies. . We are very early days of looking at options for that."
Lisa Spitale, the city's director of development services, said the pedestrian crossing is a project that needs to find a solution that is affordable, accessible and meets residents' needs. She noted that early concepts had a high clearance (similar to the Queensborough Bridge) because of requirements for navigable waters.
"We are still exploring options," she said. "One of the options that has been on the table has been is there something we can do with Southern Rail and the rail bridge?"
While the options for a crossing remain very conceptual at this time, Spitale said a decision would be needed by year-end in order to meet the 2016 completion deadline. She noted that engineering work and regulatory requirements related to the project need to be done before the project can get underway.
"We haven't found it yet," she said of a final concept. "We have been looking at several different options. I am hoping there is an option there that is DAC eligible."
The fifth project that was negotiated as part of the development Lisa Sp City di assistance compensation package was dock improvements on New Westminster's waterfront. In addition to the city, the province, the B.C. Lotteries Corporation and Starlight Casino signed the agreements.
"Nothing is happening with that right now," Spitale said. "The civic centre is taking the lion's share of DAC."
Having negotiated $35 million in funding for the civic centre, the budget later increased to le $43 million because the ctor city sought to include services suggested by community members during the consultation process. The city subsequently requested and received approval to reallocate $8 million in DAC funds from the Fraser River dock improvements and a crossing between Queensborough and the Quay to the civic centre project, although it wasn't specified how much money would come out of each of those projects.
Spitale said the question is whether the city takes money from the pedestrian bridge or the dock improvements, or a bit from both projects, and puts that money toward the civic centre.
"A lot of that is predicated on what is the solution that works for the pedestrian bridge," she said. "We can't answer that yet." [email protected]
