Prince Albert Daily Herald
Prince Albert City Hall/Daily Herald File Photo
A developer who owns property north of the Indoor Recreation Centre site says he’s disappointed with city council’s decision to purchase seven acres of land from Signature Developments to build a parking lot, instead of considering his own.
Reg Fontaine, the president and owner of Fontaine Holdings Company Ltd., spoke to council on May 10 asking them to reconsider an offer to purchase his property for the parking lot instead. Fontaine originally had a non-binding agreement with the City to sell 7.78 acres of land north of the site for $2-million. The deal fell through after the City realized it would need to pay additional costs to remove piles of dirt, demolish buildings, and take out an underground septic tank.
“We can’t raise money until we know what we’re raising,” Mayor Greg Dionne told the meeting.
Coun. Blake Edwards agreed getting an accurate cost for the project was “the smart way to do business.”
“It [the detailed design] is likely going to come back and say ‘hey it’s going to cost the taxpayer a little bit of money to build this rink,’” Edwards said. “But guess what, there’s going to be life in the city… we’re not building this just for the Raiders – if we choose to go ahead with it. It’s about hosting concerts, hosting major events, and that to me is exciting.”