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The new arena project is up for deliberations tonight starting at 5:00pm. The draft recommendation from the Infrastructure and Operations committee is to move forward with the project with a total spend limit of 52 million. The Federal Government is contributing appox 26 million dollars to the net zero project.

You can watch the meeting live here:https://www.youtube.com/@thecityofnorthbay

(You may have to refresh a couple of times at the start of the meeting, but it will pop up under the live section of the City’s YouTube page)

The Good News: The Market Sounding report commissioned by City Council will form the bulk of the meeting. According to the report, there is interest in doing the project from the 13 participants, with all indicating interest in pursuing the project if there is a Progressive Design Build (PDB) with early contractor involvement.

The Not So Good news: The participants indicated that the current budget is likely insufficient.

The biggest questions that might need answering is. . . if the project comes in higher than 52 million and Council rejects it, what is Plan C? Can you go out a 3rd time for bids and have contractors take it seriously after 2 failed attempts? Or does Council accept the higher bid and just move forward?

The decision is not an easy one for City Council.