City denies loan to Teen Centre (Council wrap-up)

City Council last night turned down a request for a $20,000 short-term loan for the Sault Ste. Marie Teen Centre.

Susan Kostanowicz (shown), the centre's executive director, told councillors that the Teen Centre could only last a couple of weeks without bridge financing to resolve its current cash-flow crisis.

But after the meeting, she told reporters that she's optimistic a loan can be found elsewhere.

The Teen Centre has plenty of equity in its building, the problem is cash flow, she told SooToday.com.

Kostanowicz did leave last night's meeting with one consolation -- Council agreed to waive $2,800 in tipping fees on about 102 tons of contaminated soil removed from the Teen Centre property.

Michael Murray, the City's director of financial services, advised Council to deny bridge financing, arguing that the Teen Centre doesn't have a solid business plan and its board doesn't appear to understand the seriousness of its current cash-flow crisis.

The only Council members who supported the Centre's request for a loan were Jody Curran, Bryan Hayes, Frank Manzo and Mayor Rowswell.

Mayor cleared for takeoff

Mayor Rowswell received Council's blessing to fly to Toronto tomorrow for an Electronic Data Sytems Corp. meeting.

EDS officially opened its GM Roadside Assistance Centre at 475 Pim Street in late April.

Rowswell will be part of a delegation that will include the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre.

The Mayor wants you to know that he bought his plane ticket last Friday to save you $400.

City will no longer pick up Christmas trees

The City is discontinuing its annual collection of discarded Christmas trees.

Residents must now haul their trees over to the Cambrian Mall parking lot, where Clean North has operated a Christnas tree chipping program for the last 12 years.

"It is also understood that some residents may not agree with this and staff would have to be prepared to pick up some abandoned trees," says Jim Elliot, the City's deputy commissioner for public works and transportation, in his memorandum to Council about the issue.

New communications/corporate affairs position

Council rejected the idea at budget time, but agreed last night to hire a new communications/corporate affairs professional as part of a management shuffle proposed by Chief Administrative Officer Joe Fratesi.

Here's the plan:

- eliminate the existing positions of assistant city clerk and manager of continuous quality improvement (Ron Batenchuk is retiring from the latter position at the end of February)

- create a new combined position of deputy city clerk and quality improvement manager, to be filled by Malcolm White, currently the assistant city clerk

- create a new position of corporate affairs officer, to be paid $44,949 to $53,505

Fratesi says the arrangement will save $15,000 a year, money that can be used to provide for expenses associated with the new corporate affairs position.

The City's strategic plan and quality improvement initiative identified external and internal communications as priorities.

The City of Thunder Bay has three employees dedicated to such duties.

Greater Sudbury has six and North Bay has one. Background.

Junior Greyhounds start to pay their bills

The Junior Greyhounds have a new agreement with the City, under which they're going to pay off half their accumulated $41,598 debt to the City by the end of this year.

The Junior Hounds will be allowed to continue using ice surfaces at John Rhodes Community Centre for practices and at Memorial Gardens for home games.

They'll pay the normal hourly primetime rate charged by the City for "organized hockey," plus staffing costs.

Practice time will be provided free for the first $35,000 of gate receipts. For the next $5,000 in receipts, 10 percent will be payable to the City. For the $5,000 after that, the rate will be 15 percent. A 20 percent charge will be placed on all receipts over $45,000.

Starting immediately, the Junior Hounds must pay $1,000 at the beginning of each month toward the cost of game ice time and staffing needs including security and cashiers.

To pay off its $41,598 outstanding account, the club must sell unspecified assets valued at $20,000 to $23,000 by December 31 and forward the cash to the City. The remainder of the debt must be paid before the contract expires on August 31, 2003.

The club must give the City 13.5 percent of any money it raises from rink-board advertising.

Nick Apostle, the City's commissioner of community services, says the agreement is similar to those struck by other cities with NOJHL teams.

In April, Council rejected an offer from Sam Biasucci to pay off the club's debt (then just $34,000) by donating to the City the fitness equipment they've accumulated at the John Rhodes Community Centre. Background.