The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[Dec72011]

Originally Posted by GregHickman

There's a Korean restaurant in Quispamsis, and a smaller one in City Market in Saint John. I actually like Korean much more than Vietnamese, Thai or Japanese. To each their own, though. It will only be a matter of time until there is one in the Moncton area.

Hi all. I've read the forum for years.

There is Korean restaurant on St. George next to the Laundromat (bar).

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Dec72011

Hi all. I've read the forum for years.

There is Korean restaurant on St. George next to the Laundromat (bar).

Welcome to the forum!

Well there you go MonctonRad, Korean restaurant in Moncton!

[Steelcowboy]

I noticed some construction that has started at the end of the lane by Hyundai, CAT and St. Hubert's. Anyone know what's going on?

[MonctonRad]

I don't know anything first hand, but somebody on the forum mentioned that Sira (the same people who own all the apartment buildings in Mapleton Village) is building another apartment complex in this location

BTW, welcome to the forum Dec72011, I didn't know we already had Korean food in the city. Don't be shy about giving your input around here, especially if you have any juicy rumours.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by q12

Brunswick News to charge for online content

December 2, 2011 - 6:23pm By BRETT BUNDALE Business Reporter

Brunswick News Inc., the Irving-owned news chain with a near-monopoly on print media in New Brunswick, is slated to launch a revamped website Monday that will charge users for content.

The publishing company will put the online edition of its 19 newspapers — 10 French-language weeklies, six English-language weeklies and three English-language dailies — behind a pay wall.

Rob Warner, editor-in-chief of Brunswick News, said all news content will now come at a cost to readers.

“It will differ from other pay walls, which allow a certain number of stories to be read by individuals,” he said in an interview from Saint John on Friday.

“It’s a hard pay wall, and beyond that I can’t say too much.

Read more here:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/38844-brunswick-news-charge-online-content

They haven't done the turnover yet for whatever reason (maybe they're waiting until the New Year now or something?). But I did see an article about the 'successes' of paywalls in today's Gleaner news feed, so I suspect they're planting the idea in people's minds.

[MonctonRad]

I saw something more on this recently. Unfortunately they are still planning on enacting their nefarious plans. The new startup date is at the end of the month.

This pisses me off. As I said before, I buy the T&T at the newsstand almost every day and have no intention to also pay for online access. To pay for the same thing twice would be pure foolishness.

Bruncor won't make any money off of this. I doubt there would be more than a thousand people in the entire province that would pay for online content. In addition, they will scare their online advertisers away and end up losing that revenue source, so they might just end up losing money on this venture.

The news will still get out. Instead of copying, pasting and attributing, we will just post something along the lines of "So, I read in the newspaper today that......"

It won't be as polished and perhaps not quite as accurate, but the news will still get out.

The one thing I will miss most will be the ability to post pictures from the newspaper website. They can be very informative, especially for ex-pats who don't get a chance to come back to the city much. I guess I'll have to get a little busier with my cellphone camera!

[NBNYer]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The one thing I will miss most will be the ability to post pictures from the newspaper website. They can be very informative, especially for ex-pats who don't get a chance to come back to the city much. I guess I'll have to get a little busier with my cellphone camera!

Yes please keep it up MonctonRad, very appreciated!

[porchmouse]

You are correct. My mother lives in the Sira complex on Mapleton and supposedly Sira is building two new 100 unit apartment buildings, both to include underground parking. Date of completion unknown at this time. We've been trying to figure out if and where there will be an extension to these complexes, ie. will there be a connection from Hopper Street. Wonderful - more traffic in Moncton North (please note sarcasm).

Originally Posted by Steelcowboy

I noticed some construction that has started at the end of the lane by Hyundai, CAT and St. Hubert's. Anyone know what's going on?

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I don't know anything first hand, but somebody on the forum mentioned that Sira (the same people who own all the apartment buildings in Mapleton Village) is building another apartment complex in this location

[C_Boy]

From the City's website. . .

Public Private Partnership (PPP) Canada rejects Moncton’s Downtown Centre funding request

December 8, 2011

MONCTON – Despite a lengthy and demanding application process to fulfill Public Private Partnership (PPP) Canada’s requirements, the federal Crown Corporation has rejected the City of Moncton’s funding request for a new downtown multi-purpose sports and entertainment centre. Since June 2010, the City has been working with PPP Canada to complete their application process. Throughout this timeframe, the City has met all of PPP Canada’s extensive information requirements, eligibility criteria and deadlines. All told, the City has spent approximately $100,000 to date on its application and devoted more than 3000 hours of senior staff and Council time to the process.

“On behalf of all Monctonians, I am extremely disappointed with this turn of events. We worked in good faith with PPP Canada throughout their process and did everything we were asked,” said Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc. “This project—and all the benefits it will bring to our city and our downtown—is one of Council’s top priorities. As we move forward, we need to consider alternative funding options and determine an appropriate course of action. We will, of course, continue to work with the Federal government and other partners to bring this project to fruition.”

In the past, the City has had success with its own public-private agreements, including the water treatment facility, City Hall and the 4-Ice Centre. The City has developed a tremendous amount of expertise in this area that will be helpful as it looks at other funding options for this project.

“A new downtown multi-purpose sports and entertainment centre will benefit Greater Moncton, as well as the Provincial and Federal governments,” says Mayor LeBlanc. “I know that a Moncton Downtown Centre was a key election priority for MP Robert Goguen. Now more than ever, we need his continued support and work to ensure that the Federal government remains a partner on this project.”

“At the same time, we must re-focus and look for opportunities to engage more fully the private sector and the Provincial government in this project. Clearly now, to make this project viable, we’re going to need more private sector and NB government support,” noted the Mayor. “We are very close to finalizing an option agreement associated with acquiring Council’s preferred site. We will be presenting the citizens of Moncton with a conceptual rendering of the proposed Downtown Centre and a detailed accounting of the project as soon as that option agreement is in place.”

“At the provincial level, we are encouraged by Premier Alward’s sustained and unwavering support for this project and look forward to continued discussions and negotiations in that respect,” added Mayor LeBlanc. “I want to thank Premier Alward and his government for their continued support for this important project.”

“I know this is a significant setback, but we will rise to the challenge like we have on many other occasions,” he said. “We are not giving up—this project is far too important. Together with our stakeholders and community, we will find a made-in-Moncton solution.”

[JasonL-Moncton]

Originally Posted by JasonL-Moncton

This is sad...we don't need developers like this...



http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1461922

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/05/11/nb-wetland-protection.html

http://country94news.blogspot.com/2011/05/coon-blasts-blaney-over-wetlands.html

I understand he had to 'protect' his interests, but there have to be better ways...

Photos by Ann LeBreton on Facebook Petitcodiac Riverkeeper page...

From this (see the beaver house right in the middle?):



To this:



Less than 2 feet of water...

[pierremoncton]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Bruncor won't make any money off of this. I doubt there would be more than a thousand people in the entire province that would pay for online content. In addition, they will scare their online advertisers away and end up losing that revenue source, so they might just end up losing money on this venture.

I'm fairly certain they had a paywall years ago when they first went online, but anyone with a paper subscription could get a free login. Until a couple of years ago, I wasn't paying attention to their site because I thought they still had it up. It's only by reading this forum that I realized it was open again.

People like you who already subscribe won't want to pay twice. And people like me who don't subscribe won't start paying now. Hard to sell ads with no readers. They're just repeating the same mistake.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by JasonL-Moncton

Photos by Ann LeBreton on Facebook Petitcodiac Riverkeeper page...

Wow, that was a huge... pond. I can see why people might have become concerned about it encroaching on those back yards...

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by C_Boy

From the City's website. . .

Public Private Partnership (PPP) Canada rejects Moncton’s Downtown Centre funding request

December 8, 2011

MONCTON – Despite a lengthy and demanding application process to fulfill Public Private Partnership (PPP) Canada’s requirements, the federal Crown Corporation has rejected the City of Moncton’s funding request for a new downtown multi-purpose sports and entertainment centre. Since June 2010, the City has been working with PPP Canada to complete their application process. Throughout this timeframe, the City has met all of PPP Canada’s extensive information requirements, eligibility criteria and deadlines. All told, the City has spent approximately $100,000 to date on its application and devoted more than 3000 hours of senior staff and Council time to the process.

“We must re-focus and look for opportunities to engage more fully the private sector and the Provincial government in this project. Clearly now, to make this project viable, we’re going to need more private sector and NB government support,” noted the Mayor. “We are very close to finalizing an option agreement associated with acquiring Council’s preferred site. We will be presenting the citizens of Moncton with a conceptual rendering of the proposed Downtown Centre and a detailed accounting of the project as soon as that option agreement is in place.”

“I know this is a significant setback, but we will rise to the challenge like we have on many other occasions,” he said. “We are not giving up—this project is far too important. Together with our stakeholders and community, we will find a made-in-Moncton solution.”

This is terrible news. Despite the brave face the mayor is placing on this, it's hard to imagine this project moving forward without a federal contribution, $25M would be hard to replace from either provincial or private sources.

This is false economy on the part of the feds. It is easy to just say "no" and point to this as evidence of fiscal responsibility and prudence on the part of those who control the public purse. In reality, some projects such as this one would be significant catalysts to economic growth which would cause improved tax revenues down the road. This should be considered an investment in the future! Instead, we risk stagnation and poor growth potential, leading to decreased tax revenue and increased costs due to higher unemployment and social welfare costs. Not all public spending is bad!!!

Despite the bleak outlook, the city should still press ahead with optioning their preferred site for the events centre and should release their conceptual drawings. They might still be able to shame the feds into doing something for us.

I do believe that Premier Alward is supportive of this project and I think he will provide significant financial support but with the current near insolvency of the province, he can't just replace the federal contribution.

As far as private partners are concerned, this would depend on what the centre might be used for. Private partners of course are interested in making profit (or at least not losing money). Robert Irving might be a significant partner, especially given his interest in the Wildcats and companies like Molson/Coors could be involved in paying for naming rights. Again, it will be difficult to make up for the loss of federal funding.

This is extremely bad news indeed!!

[MonctonRad]

I wonder when the coliseum was built 40 years ago, how was the project funded.......

Was it entirely a civic project? Was there any provincial or federal involvement at the time?

This information might be germaine to the current situation. If the coliseum was principally a civic project, perhaps the new events centre could be too. You would just have to have a good business case and the proper private partners.

[riverviewer]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

Wow, that was a huge... pond. I can see why people might have become concerned about it encroaching on those back yards...

Did the beavers have a permit? Was that area zoned for pond? Did the beavers complete their environmental assessment? Did they apply for a variance for excess water? If they illegally dammed that waterway will they pay for damages?

[mylesmalley]

There's some work being done behind the Champlain/Paul Irving on that lot Cobalt Properties supposedly wants to develop. Looks as though they're just levelling the lot. Hard to say what the purpose for it is. They might just be expanding the gas station parking lot, although it's odd that it would be done this late in the year since the asphalt plants are closed/closing.

[pierremoncton]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

Wow, that was a huge... pond. I can see why people might have become concerned about it encroaching on those back yards...

The only person concerned, at least according to the T&T article that JasonL linked, is the developer. The three residents who were interviewed were all appalled by what he did.

Originally Posted by riverviewer

Did the beavers have a permit? Was that area zoned for pond? Did the beavers complete their environmental assessment? Did they apply for a variance for excess water? If they illegally dammed that waterway will they pay for damages?

I don't understand the point you're trying to make. [Edit: This wording may seem to be confrontational but it's not. Can you clarify your position?] If there's a real threat to existing homes and infrastructure, then I can understand why something would be done to prevent problems, but, in all fairness, I didn't find the T&T article to be really clear.

What I want to say is that wetlands and wildlife should be protected, lest we become a sterile concrete and vinyl city.

[riverviewer]

Originally Posted by pierremoncton

I don't understand the point you're trying to make.
What I want to say is that wetlands and wildlife should be protected, lest we become a sterile concrete and vinyl city.

The point I was making is that the beavers will have a hard time living within city limits. They cannot apply for a permit to build their dams. They can't get a survey done to be sure the height of their dams is within acceptable limits. They just build and hope they don't get caught.

While I do agree wetlands should be protected, I must ask whether all beaver created ponds to be considered wetlands even if there was no wetland before the beavers built their dam?

[Nashe]

I grew up in rural Kent county, and saw lots of cases where beaver "projects" encroached and/or impacted on livelihoods and human construction. Sometimes they were left as-is (as in the case of when they flooded old gravel pits and the like) but sometimes they were dealth with (trapped/relocated/killed) in order to maintain the land. Yeah, they're fuzzy and kinda cute and hardworking, but they CAN be just pests, sometimes. If a bunch of hornets move in on my property and construct a huge nest, I don't automatically assume that they have the right to be there.

I don't think for a second that EVERY beaver (...or nuthatch, or pangdolin, or marmoset...) habitat that runs afoul of ours should be destroyed. However, in some cases, the decision is made by property owners to maintain what they have.

It's certainly not a crime in this case, as far as I can tell. I personally would have been more apt to try to relocate them, but to be frank, not many people WANT a troop of industrious beavers living near them, for this very reason.

[MonctonRad]

From today's T&T


Still hope for events centre
Published Saturday December 10th, 2011

MP says failure to secure federal funding doesn't mean other chances won't come up in future

Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe Member of Parliament Robert Goguen said no one should give up on the idea of building a downtown events centre in Moncton just because it failed to meet the changed criteria of a program administered by the federal crown Corporation PPP Canada.

It was simply a case of too many applications coming into the program, not a question of merit.

At least one Canadian media report in recent days suggested the federal fund has about $1.2 billion in it but has received applications totalling about $24 billion.

Goguen said he couldn't talk numbers, but the program had indeed proved very popular. He noted communities across the country, including places like Edmonton, Iqaluit and Saint Catharines, Ont., not to mention Gatineau and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's hometown Calgary, all got disappointing news from the arm's-length independent funding body in recent days.

"It's not about saying no to something that wouldn't work. We know the geography. We know that Moncton can be an entertainment centre."

Goguen also said he shared the oft-repeated view of Premier David Alward, who spoke in support of the centre in the legislature yesterday under questioning from Moncton East MLA Chris Collins, that supporting events infrastructure in Moncton isn't just economic development, but also something that offers direct return on investment through recouping HST from the economic activity Moncton events generate.

He said the events centre will remain a priority for him as long as it remains a priority for Moncton.

Goguen also said federal funding programs historically come and go and he predicted that would continue once his government had a better chance to see what the impacts on Canada might be from the current European economic crisis.

The president of Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville Incorporated says he's not discouraged by news the city's long-sought downtown events centre has been rejected for federal funding this week. Nor does he think failing to get money from the Crown corporation Public Private Partnerships Canada closes the door on federal money forever.

"This is a large, complex project and it's very unusual for large projects to not have federal help. If you look at Harbour Station, the YMCA in Fredericton, the KC Irving Centre in Bathurst, even the new rink in Bouctouche, they have all been supported by the public sector," Louis Leger said yesterday morning.

"We have a federal representative on the government side of the house and I personally have a lot of confidence in Robert Goguen," he said.

"I'm also confident we as a city can figure it out. We have a lot of dedicated people on this. We just have to work harder, because it's so important to our city."

Meanwhile, is it a case of really lousy timing, or does Nova Scotia's largest urban centre have some hope for federal assistance that New Brunswick's largest urban centre lacks?

Just as the City of Moncton this week has been told they will receive no money towards the building of their long-sought downtown events centre, apparently because the federal government has decided it will no longer fund sports infrastructure under its PPP Canada fund, the City of Halifax has received a three-month extension to get funding for a new stadium that would help host the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup - not to mention one day compete for events with the Stade Moncton 2010 Stadium.

As reported by several Halifax media outlets, Soccer Canada has granted the grace period, and Mayor Peter Kelly has said he will be actively pursuing both Nova Scotia's provincial government and the federal government.

Personal note - The newspaper is trying to turn this into a Moncton vs Halifax thing. The tenor of their editorial today and one of the items in the "sleuth" was similar. I will refrain from doing the same thing here. If anything, this is equally bad news for Halifax. The feds have turned down funding for a number of sports facilities recently, including in Gatineau and noteably in Harper's home town of Calgary. Since Soccer Canada only gave Halifax a three month extension on their bid, I think it will be difficult for them to get all their ducks in a row in time.

The events centre may not be dead, but I think any hope of having it open by 2015 are out the window. It will take time to replace the federal funding or to seek federal funding from a different source. If any additional federal funding is forthcoming, it likely wouldn't be announced until close to the next federal election date. As such, I doubt that we will see a new events centre in the city until 2018 at the very earliest. By that time, the cost of the centre will likely have risen to at least $120M!!