By Tyler Marr

Council approves incentive package, development permit for luxury hotel

Oct 16, 2017 | 9:20 PM

Despite stiff opposition from one member, city council voted to approve an incentive package and a development permit for a new luxury hotel slated for the southend of the city.

Made public last week, the city proposed $700,000 in cash incentives to the developers of the $15 million Premier Best Western Hotel. The developers must pay all fees and infrastructure charges before receiving the grant.

The motion for the incentive package passed 7-2, with Councillors Terra Lennox-Zepp and Dennis Nowoselsky opposed. The development permit passed with only Lennox-Zepp voting against.

The $700,000 cash grant covers $519,000 for a new road and utility construction, and the waiving of $181,000 in permit and levy charges. Mayor Greg Dionne said the incentives are not sizeable considering the scope of the project and believed the money will be recouped relatively quickly. 

The hotel is expected to pay around $277,000 in taxes per year once it opens in 2018.

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“I am pleased….It really shows that we are open for business,” Dionne said while speaking with the media. “It’s going to get people back to work and I hope we get more spin-off out of it.”

A strong proponent of the project was Coun. Dennis Ogrodnick. He said the city needed to “send a message that this city is open for business,” amidst a passionate monologue where he called those against the proposal “wrong.”

“When we give this developer this break… to provide 70 jobs… this is a win for our city,” he added. “I will support business and this is an example of me supporting business. It is a combination of providing services for people and having business contribute to our economy.”

He and a number of his colleagues around the table pointed out a need to grow the tax base in order to fund programs and services in the city, more so as funding avenues dry up from the province. 

“The city doesn’t have a pot of money behind the door,” Coun. Ted Zurakowski added. “We can’t deal with infrastructure without having businesses to collect taxes from… I don’t want to pay higher taxes… but we need to broaden our tax base.”

Objecting the move, Lennox-Zepp made four unsuccessful amendments to the motion before the vote, leading some debates to snowball into moments of heated exchange. Many accused her of spreading misinformation and half-truths online over the weekend, causing them to field an array of calls and “put out fires.”

She argued there was a lack of evidence over the need for the development or how the cash grant would improve the economy of the city. Though not opposed to tax incentives or subsidies, she didn’t see evidence it was needed in this case.

“In this case, it is shocking the lack of information that we have,” she said after the vote. “This shouldn’t be about what a developer wants. City councillors need to govern the city in a way that is in the best interest of the residents of Prince Albert, and this proposal that passed today is not in the best interest.”

Hesitations existed also over the wording in the motion. She cited the fact that nothing forced the developers to hire local builders, or explicitly stated the money needs to be used for a luxury hotel. She attempted to slide these in, but the amendments died on the floor as they received no seconder.

City administration said the plans are essentially done, and expected to be on their desk within 24 hours. Further, the mayor called foul on a some of Lennox-Zepp’s arguments, such as the cost impacts for things like snow removal and garbage collection, deeming a number as “false statements.”

Desire for ‘cookie cutter’ policy

Nowoselsky was opposed to the incentive package, as he did not want to set a bad precedent for future business proposals. He said some “cookie cutters cut good cookies,” noting a need for a more consistent policy for when the next developer comes along.

“By doing this we don’t have fair guidelines in the future,” he said. “We want guidelines that are fair, why do we have rules for softball of baseball? So we have some guidelines… It forces us not to go through this.”

Two local business partners, Abdul Hirani and his son Faizan who currently manage the Best Western, are behind the two-phase project. It is expected to employ 70 people when completed. It is to be built on the south end of the city and will house 82 luxury suites and a beer store in phase one. Plans for a second tower and future development are said to be in the works.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr