Burlington Post:
Is Mac deal dead?
City staff recommend council not commit $10 million to project
By Jason Misner
News
May 04, 2008
McMaster University's second attempt to build a Burlington campus may soon face an impasse.
Burlington city staff are recommending to Wednesday's (May 7) community and corporate services committee that the municipality not give $10 million toward construction of a proposed $25-million business school.
McMaster's preferred location for a campus is a 3.6-hectare (nine-acre) private site, on the South Service Road, west of Appleby Line.
The location is a change from an original 2006 downtown site proposal that Mac officials ultimately abandoned, citing a lack of space for future expansion.
City staff's rationale for its recommendation is that the new site selected by Mac "provides limited benefits to the city..."
Council members have stressed in the recent past that a city contribution would not come without debate. Wednesday's vote on the staff recommendation stands to be a crucial decision for politicians since Mac officials have repeatedly said the $10-million municipal contribution is critical to the creation of a Burlington campus.
"For it to be an option for us, we need to have appropriate financing," Ilene Busch-Vishniac, McMaster provost, told the Post last month. "We started with this project because the City of Burlington was interested in having post-secondary (here)."
The city committee meeting will be held the night before McMaster's board of governors is scheduled to debate the new site option -- including a business plan and detailed building design -- on Thursday (May 8).
DeGroote School of Business Dean Paul Bates said in an interview on Friday that it's "very premature" to discuss the prospect of Burlington not contributing money to a campus. He acknowledged the outcome from the meeting would be important as Mac charts its future direction for a city campus.
"A lot has changed since that original (downtown) commitment was made, not the least of which there have been a number of other significant commitments the city has made," he said. "I have huge respect for the folks who work at City Hall."
Asked if the campus could proceed without city funding, Bates said: "It's too early to ask that question."
The dean is hopeful a deal that works well for Mac and the city can be reached.
"We are working on the premise that we'll find the right resolution on this," he said, adding he plans to attend the Wednesday meeting.
Mayor Cam Jackson said he doesn't think a decision by the city not to give money, would necessarily kill a campus deal. The city knows Mac's needs but Mac needs to know what the city needs, he said.
"...there is a will to try and make an arrangement work," he said. "I'm quite confident McMaster will give us time to analyze this South Service Road location."
Jackson said Mac has been working on tight timelines, making it tough for the city to fully review the latest campus concept as it budgets for a number of other big-ticket projects including a $36.2 million performing arts centre.
"We have a lot of capital projects on our table," Jackson said. "We want to make sure this is the right location, that there's room for expansion; we want to determine McMaster is serious about a campus environment and not just a single building. We're looking for a long-term relationship with McMaster."
The 12-page staff report -- available at
www.burlington.ca -- outlines five scenarios for councillors to consider for support of a Mac campus. The option being recommended -- which states the city's "gratitude" for the school's proposal -- is one that doesn't provide cash.
"...the proposed McMaster campus would be a catalyst for economic growth. However, balancing the $10-million investment required to realize this opportunity against the many other priorities and needs of the community is the difficult challenge facing council," said the report.
The Burlington Chamber of Commerce supports a Mac campus, and had been supportive of $10 million being paid to the university when the original plan was to build in the core.
Chamber president Keith Hoey said he couldn't comment on the recent staff recommendation to withhold money since it hadn't been debated yet, nor would he discuss what Mac's reaction might be if it was approved.
He did say he's "concerned" about Mac's reaction if council votes not to give money toward the project.
"I would be concerned that if council decides not to spend the $10 million, that will have a negative impact on McMaster's decision, meaning McMaster might decide to not come and I believe that's a bad thing for the city," he said.
Wednesday's committee meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 426 Brant St.
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