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Friday, October 29, 1999
Kanata's holding all the cards
But on further review (doesn't that sound familiar?) Bryden's goal isn't as clear cut as it might appear.
It didn't take much time after the Senators' owner stepped behind the microphone last night at his big arena in Kanata for the rain to start pouring on his "big breakthrough."
The word that Kanata Mayor Merle Nicholds isn't at all in favour of the province's plan came from a CBC-TV news reporter, and it seemed to catch Bryden off guard.
The way the province's concession works is that Ontario will cut property taxes it charges on the Corel Centre, and at three other privately-owned sports facilities in Ontario, if the municipalities do likewise.
That means Bryden needs the same positive answer from Nicholds, and the regional government, that he got from the province.
Regional Chair Bob Chiarelli has acted already, developing a plan between local governments that would cut $3.5 million off the team's $4.5-million bill for property taxes.
Nicholds isn't biting yet. In fact, she turned her nose away from the province's move like it was served with a side of turnips, calling the break a "write-off" and a "windfall" for the Senators and Bryden.
HOLDS THE CARDS
Nicholds is in a powerful position here, and her comments last night were loud and clear: Kanata won't simply rubber-stamp either the province's plan, or the idea that Chiarelli is floating.
She says Kanata stands to lose $500,000 in revenue -- its share of property taxes the Corel Centre pays the city for its patch of farm pasture.
Will Nicholds stand in the way of the province's move? This is the first significant concession made by any level of government during Bryden's campaign for tax fairness.
Kanata will lose some tax revenue, but that loss pales when compared to what the city could miss if the Senators leave.
The city's name is front-and-centre whenever the Senators play a game. Writers from the visiting cities use Kanata, not Ottawa, on the placeline of their stories.
Without the Senators, the City of Kanata doesn't reap the benefits and economic spinoffs of a major-league sports franchise. Those same spinoffs Nicholds and other politicians use to help sell their city to prospective businesses.
There are also many existing businesses in Kanata, especially along Terry Fox Dr., which depend on the existence of the team. If the Senators leave, you'd think that some of those businesses would be forced to follow.
It's a delicate situation for Nicholds. On one hand, she doesn't want her city's taxpayers to be stuck with a $500,000 tab. On the other, she doesn't want to be seen as the person who helped kill the Senators.
FIRST MOVE
All through his fight for tax fairness, he's requested a shared political solution that can keep the Senators in Ottawa. The province has made the first step in creating that formula, and Bryden believes the federal government is ready to follow.
That means the puck is in the local government's zone. The region is onside with Chiarelli, and now the pass is being made to the Kanata council, and Mayor Nicholds.
Maybe it'll all be a moot point when the cities are amalgamated under municipal reform.
But for now, the obvious choice is for Kanata to allow the fragile process, which might save the Senators, to begin.
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