CitySSMAfter some lively conversation, council narrowly defeated a motion related to the outdoor rink and tennis courts at the closed William Merrifield Public School.  Council voted 6 to 5 against a recommendation not to accept an offer from the Algoma District School Board to acquire that part of the school property that houses those recreational facilities.  The motion had also asked for city staff to work with the developer to create greenspace as part of the subdivision approval process.  For some councillors, it didn’t make sense to move a rink that is already being heavily used.  Ward 5 councillor Marchy Bruni spoke passionately in his opposition of the idea of closing the Merrifield rink, particularly at the 100 thousand dollar cost to fix it.  Councillor Steve Butland suggested a smaller rink to replace the existing rink at Merrifield, but Commissioner of Community Services Nick Apostle advised against it, saying the lighting would have to stay on for at least for four hours every night — no matter what the rink size is — and that neighbours in the proposed subdivision could be bothered by it.   Bruni added that he had not heard one complaint about Merrifield, specifically the lighting there and no one had mentioned any cost to fix the rink there, even suggesting those reasons to move the Merrifield rink were ‘made up’.  Bruni later apologized for the latter comments.  Ward 6 councillor Ross Romano felt that the move to the Zuke Park Rink was a good idea, as the rink is already and result in a savings of the 100 thousand dollars to build a new shack for Merrifield.  A proposed 50-lot single family home subdivision has not been finalized yet.  An idea for an ‘Option B’ for St. Theresa School — when it closes — was also mentioned.  But Commissioner of Community Services Nick Apostle menionted that this property would also be used for subdivision processing.  Ward 6 councillor Joe Krmpotich mentioned it is important to maintain rink facilities, which have shrunk from nine in 1992 to three in 2015.  Ward 4 councillor Rick Niro also suggested that it was ‘a bit presumptuous’ for both Merrifield and St. Theresa not to be used, suggesting a ‘wait and see’ approach be taken on this matter.

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Council also discussed the good news regarding the city’s credit rating.  Standard and Poor’s has upgraded the rating for Sault Ste. Marie from A-plus to AA-minus.  City Councillor Paul Christian called it good news and that the high rating will help the city move forward with its asset management plan, where plans are to spend millions of dollars on it.  Christian added that it will help save taxpayers money down the road.   Councillor Steve Butland mentioned an example of how much better financially the city is compared to 50 years ago.  He said that debt is 162 dollars per person now, compared to 352 dollars per person back then.  Despite the positive news, Ward 5 councillor Frank Fata expressed concern about other factors related to the local economy.  Fata mentioned the high unemployment rate and the growing welfare roll, among other things.  Sault Mayor Christian Provenzano accepted Fata’s argument that Sault Ste. Marie does have some challenges, but also acknowledged Butland’s statement and Ward 1 councillor Paul Christian that the improved credit rating is good news for the city.

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An announcement was made at Tuesday’s City Council meeting regarding the 2015 United Way Campaign.  Campaign Chair James Caicco talked about the goal for this year:  to help 12 thousand people in need.  It was mentioned that one in three people in Sault Ste. Marie will access some service supported by the United Way this year and in future years.    He added that the United Way would not be made possible without some 300 volunteers from across the community to serve it.  Two corporate campaigns at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre and Ontario Lottery and Gaming kicked off on Tuesday.