Development Town is rejected for the second time over arena proposal

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ANDREW MCGILLIGAN
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

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ROTHESAY - Bill Bishop is disappointed, but not surprised by a recent decision by the School District 6 education council.

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Rothesay Mayor Bill Bishop says he wasn’t surpised that the School Distric 6 council rejected the town’s proposal to twin the Rothesay Arena.

The Rothesay mayor received a letter from the education council saying no - for a second time - to a proposal for the town to use land owned by the province to twin the current Rothesay Arena.

The town had made the pitch for land to the DEC last winter. At that time, the department of education hired engineering consulting firm ADI to review the proposal. The verdict from ADI was the arena proposal would seriously compromise the ability to develop educational facilities.

The schools that may need expansion are Rothesay High School and Harry Miller Middle School.

Superintendent of District 6 Zoë Watson said nothing had changed in the proposal and thus the decision was the same.

"The plan presented in September to the new council was the same plan which the former DEC had considered and agreed they could not support," Watson said in an e-mail. "Our circumstances have not changed and we continue to project growth for both Harry Miller Middle School and Rothesay High School."

Watson said DEC members would be willing to review other options for twinning the arena that don't interfere with plans for school expansion.

For his part, Bishop said the most recent presentation made to the DEC did point out that major additions to both schools could be done, and the town's request accommodated, if the school district re-configured its plans.

"They didn't buy that and I'm not surprised at the answer that arrived on my desk (Friday)," the mayor said.

The negative response brings to an end cooperation between the town and school board on the issue, Bishop said.

"Certainly any cooperation with the school board, as far as I'm concerned, is over," he said. "They're not the least bit interested in making any changes, so that's over with and we'll carry on in another fashion."

Bishop said he's disappointed with the school board's decision as the two groups cooperated in the past on providing fields at Rothesay High, expansion of the playground at Rothesay Park Elementary school and making the Arthur Miller Fields available to school children.

"All of that and not even as much as a thank you, but I guess that's the way it is," Bishop said.

However, the town is not ruling out the idea of twinning the arena. The expansion could be done on the front of the rink. Bishop said it's an option the town would go directly to the province with.

"We'd go to the province because it's leased land and it doesn't figure into the expansion of either school," he said.

In addition to the twinning idea, Rothesay is still looking at the possibility of partnering with Quispamsis on the Q-Plex or looking at another site altogether for a new rink.

A decision regarding Rothesay's involvement in the Q-Plex could be dealt with at Wednesday's town council meeting. Quispamsis has asked for $7.4-million to partner on the project. The Q-Plex will include an ice surface with the mechanical infrastructure in place to twin it in the future and an outdoor pool, among other features. Rothesay came up with a $2.8-million counter offer, but the motion was tabled at a Sept. meeting of council.