𝑾𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝑲𝑪𝑼 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏:

𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 “𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬” 𝐛𝐮𝐭, 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞.

KCU welcomed Council’s willingness to second a motion to pause the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) and Multiplex following strong public questions. However, it was disappointing to hear councillors dismiss residents’ concerns by brushing them aside as “misinformation,” rather than answering the questions they were asking.

It is councillor’s responsibility to properly inform the taxpayers. KCU has in the past, raised fact-based questions, and residents deserve responses—not a shrug and being labelled as “obstructing progress”.

Councillor Hall singling out a resident for the AAP court challenge, and blaming this resident for rising project costs—backed by "napkin math" rather than verifiable evidence—is shameful. Six thousand residents voiced their concerns during the AAP process. That’s a bold claim for him to make with no facts to justify his statement.

The AAP was conducted when the PAC project was priced at $154 million. It now sits at $211 million, and residents haven’t had a chance to weigh in on that rather noticeable jump.

While user groups supporting the projects are important, they don’t represent the entire taxpaying public footing the bill.

Under an independent review model, costs are developed by professional validation of projected costs. This would not just be helpful, but prudent considering the significant taxpayer money to be spent.

If Council is confident in the numbers, a third-party review should be an easy yes. After all, every percentage savings on $211 million could be significant.

Council framed any delay as a guaranteed cost increase, without considering opportunities to reassess scope, find savings, or reduce risk.

Focusing only on the cost of delay while ignoring the cost of getting it wrong is like worrying about being on time but not whether you’re headed in the right direction.

And so far, the City has got the costs wrong.

This goes beyond the PAC. It raises broader questions about transparency, accountability, and whether major financial decisions are getting the scrutiny they deserve.

At its core, this is about fiduciary responsibility. Council’s job is to protect taxpayers and manage public funds carefully.

Investing in the community matters, but doing it wisely matters more.

Because building fast doesn’t magically make it affordable.