Timmins Mayor Steve Black has addressed Stars and Thunder estimated cost, community pride and the future of the festival in a Facebook post.
At the July 10 council meeting, CAO David Landers is slated to present an update on Stars and Thunder, the eight-day music festival that wrapped up on Canada Day.
This morning in a social media post, however, Black said in his time as a municipal politician he has “not seen another event, activity or item provide as much community pride, tourism or happiness within the city from both residents and guests.”
He also gave his estimate of what the festival will cost.
“The finance department will require some time to calculate the final numbers but based on my tracking I estimate the cost of this festival will be between $1.6 Mil and $1.8 Mil. (again unofficial and finance will provide the final accurate numbers shortly),” he wrote. “Some will ask what that means per tax bill. If you divided it among all tax bills equally it would be about $90 per tax bill. PLEASE NOTE WE WILL NOT BE ISSUING NEW TAX BILLS and will not be collecting anything extra for 2018 as a result of the festival. The shortfall will be covered by savings in other areas or reserves at end of year.”
The length of the festival has also been a frequent topic of conversation in the community.
“Perhaps four days vs eight is the answer to reduce costs, and make it easier to travel to and return without missing a week of work as well as making it less tiring for local residents, not overlap with school year etc. Perhaps there will not be a future event. The next council will make that decision following the election,” wrote Black
He noted areas such as arenas, museum and library, as well as playgrounds or beaches, or transit that are expenditures for the municipality, but not all people use.
“These all come with significant cost subsidies as well but all contribute to what our community is in significant ways. The next council will need to decide if the pros outweigh the cost or if the event can be reconfigured to reduce the financial burden/increase revenues,” said Black.
See the full post here.
