Rick Di Lorenzo wrote:
We are likely to start seeing some binding agreements come before council this month or soon after
Hey Rick did you forget about the binding agreements council approved at our last council meeting
On April 23rd Milton Council approved the sponsorship and gift agreements with The Columbus Corporation (Mattamy) relating to the Milton Velodrome. In exchange for a $ 2 million dollar payment from Columbus the Town agrees that following the Pan Am and Parapan American Games the velodrome will be named the “ Mattamy Cycling Centre “. Now I do not have a problem with this agreement, but I do have some concerns with the Gift Agreement that was approved by council. In exchange for $ 7 Million in pledged donations the Town of Milton has agreed to the following conditions.
A minimum of 70% of the operating hours must be dedicated to indoor track cycling; again this is the minimum that 70% could go to 80 or 90%. This would severely restrict the multi uses that supporters of this velodrome keep mentioning as they try and justify the millions of capital tax dollars being redirected to the velodrome that had originally been allocated for other proposed sports facilities.
To ensure that this condition is met the town has further agreed to establish a management committee as the governing body for the velodrome. This committee will consist of 11 members of which the Chair and the majority of members must be from the cycling community. There is no mention of how many members must be from Milton, so we may see that this multi-million dollar facility that Milton tax payers will be responsible for being managed by a committee of which the majority of members do not live or pay taxes in Milton.
And finally the initial term of the agreements is for 20 years, with an option for a second 20 year term. Which means the if this turns into the white elephant that I suspect it will become, as have so many other such facilities, Milton taxpayers would be obligated to continue funding its operation through property taxes until at least the year 2034, or face severe financial penalties. Either way Milton tax payers will end up paying.
In its desperation to secure a financial agreement to assist the Town in paying its portion of the construction costs for this velodrome, I believe we have given away the farm while agreeing to keep paying the mortgage.
Rick Malboeuf
Councillor Ward 4