The latest meeting of the Sudbury City Council ended up with a vote backing the Council’s 2017 decision regarding the Kingsway Entertainment District.
Councillor Gerry Montpellier has brought a formal question on the Council’s agenda, with the Kingsway Entertainment District, and more specifically, the proposed casino project, being involved in the discussion. The motion, however, was declared as a reassessment of last year’s Council resolution on the Kingsway project by Mayor Brian Bigger – a move that meant that councilors had to put the project on vote again.
It did not take long for sparks to fly at the City Council’s meeting so that Eric Labelle, a city clerk, had to put the situation under control. He explained that a “no” vote on the councilor Montpellier’s motion would mean that the project would be reaffirmed.
According to him, such discussions are not normally held on open sessions.
“That’s not something we would typically discuss in open session and we should be moving into closed session to have that discussion.” – Eric Labelle
The Sudbury City Council voted 11-1 not to discuss the project, which councilor Montpellier once again described as a conflict of interest. He first did this more than a year earlier. On the previous occasion, the Council voted 10-2 in favor of the Kingsway project. According to Dario Zulich, a local developer, the vote once again provided affirmation that the casino and entertainment project is valuable for the region.
Obligatory Public Meeting to Be Held in November
Meanwhile, an obligatory public meeting called a Case Management Conference was scheduled for November 6th, 2018 by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) as the next step in the ongoing debate regarding the Kingsway Entertainment District development in Greater Sudbury.
The local regulatory body has already confirmed that the appeals which the opponents of the project had rolled out are valid. The LPAT, however, said that enough facts and evidence are required to be gathered, and the two parties must try to find a way for mediation. As Casino Reports previously revealed, four appeals have been filed, with them regarding different aspects of the Greater Sudbury casino project.
The casino project now needs the court’s permission in spite of the fact that Sudbury City Council has already given it the green light. The court’s resolution is expected to put an end to the ongoing battle of the supporters and opponents of the new gambling and entertainment project, with the proponents of the casino remaining optimistic about its future.
The Kingsway Entertainment District proposal was given the green light earlier this year, with the project proceeding despite the appeals. It still remains unclear when Sudbury would finally get the planned new gaming and entertainment center. James McKenzie, the associate chair of the LPAT, said in May that issuing a resolution on the matter could take up to 12 months.
