Dear Editor,
To be clear, I love hockey and airplanes.
Brantford, however, is at a critical juncture. Recent decisions by our city council risk squandering some of our most valuable public assets while saddling taxpayers with long term financial burdens, even as councils own information suggests that the road ahead is laden with risk and debt. The handling of both the Brantford Municipal Airport lands and the proposed Sports and Entertainment Centre (SEC) reveals a troubling pattern of missed opportunities, opaque governance, and fiscal mismanagement. The usual suspects know who they are.
Airport Lands: A Wasted Opportunity
Independent financial analysis makes one thing clear: the airport lands hold immense potential for industrial and commercial development. Recent private sector transactions such as $190 million for 350 acres in Brantford suggest a market value of over $540,000 per acre. Applied to the airport’s 438 acres, this implies a valuation exceeding $237 million, far above the city’s outdated $20 million estimate. Do land values fluctuate? Of course they do, but one thing is clear, we as a community are leaving millions on the table in land value and a share of commercial taxes, all while more tax increases lurk around the corner.
If even 60% of the land were developed for industrial use, projected lease revenues could reach $148 million annually. In contrast, the current aviation only model yields minimal returns and squanders opportunities for job creation, tax growth, and economic development. Brantford’s current employment numbers are troubling. If you need employment, don’t be complacent, create it; stop waiting for someone else to do the heavy lifting. This lack of vision and initiative leads to missed opportunity that can’t be ignored, and doing so risks the current and future livelihoods of our residents and their families.The money and opportunity being left on the table is ours, not theirs. It’s a community asset, not a personal playground.
Governance Concerns and Conflicts of Interest
Rather than pursuing a transparent, revenue maximizing strategy, our council is considering transferring the airport to a municipal services corporation (MSC), a move that would reduce oversight and limit public accountability. These structures often obscure financial decisions from the public and increase long term risk, such as borrowing with little or no council oversight.
Moreover, for decades, the airport authority and council have been composed of individuals with personal aviation interests. This raises serious concerns about conflicts of interest and the stewardship of public assets. Should aviation enthusiasts who sit on council and the airport authority board really be managing one of the city’s most valuable assets with less oversight? If they were baseball enthusiasts, would we have 438 acres of baseball diamonds? At least it would be on brand with being the Tournament Capital of Ontario. It’s time to put on our big boy and girl pants and start making the tough decisions to pull our community out of the past and into a viable, prosperous future. It shouldn’t take 40 years to move on from Massey and one must wonder just what leadership has been doing for the last 40 years. Not nearly enough is the simple answer. Monetizing the airport site is step one in a long overdue economic rebuild of the city and the area as a whole. All it takes is vision and collaboration.
Pattern Repeated: The SEC Project’s Financial Risk
It’s important to know that downtown revitalization via an arena alone rarely succeeds; it typically requires massive surrounding public and private investment. This plan is a highly leveraged bet being placed with your money in unclear economic times. Arenas act best as an anchor in a redevelopment plan, but they must be accompanied by large-scale public investment in infrastructure, housing, and non-arena attractions to succeed. If the surrounding development is not built, the arena acts as a destination but fails as a catalyst.
The SEC project is another example of fiscal imprudence. With a $140 million price tag and $8.4 million in annual borrowing costs over 30 years, the total cost will exceed $250 million. Even under optimistic projections, the net present value is negative $127 million. The claim that the project will be “tax-neutral” depends on speculative future developments in a sluggish economy and a slowing housing market that leaves taxpayers vulnerable if those revenues fall short. This is not an action of fiscal responsibility by leadership, it’s a desperate attempt to leave one’s mark on a city, no matter the cost. We do not live or operate in Hypotheticalville, and for council to do so in these challenging times suggests that we require a complete overhaul of leadership and a little common sense. Unfortunately, common sense doesn’t seem very common to those making financial decision, regardless of their persistent claims.
A Path Forward
The cheerleaders of burdening generational debt, please take a seat.
The city must prioritize transparency, fiscal discipline, and evidence-based planning. Developing the airport lands for high value industrial and innovation uses could generate substantial revenue, create jobs, and ease the tax burden on residents. That is meaningful, constructive growth for residents and city revenues. At the rate they’re going, we are not far from a revenue problem, tic toc tic toc. There is collaboration that’s required by the City of Brantford, County of Brant, and Six Nations of the Grand River to make the airport site work and benefit us all. We need adults in the room to unleash progress, not combative children; otherwise, expect more of the same at our expense.
It’s time for a forward looking, accountable approach that aligns with market realities and serves the long term interests of the community without the burden of mismanaged assets, reckless financial decision making and childlike romper room behaviour. It’s time to stop disrespecting taxpayers and start treating our assets and finances with the stewardship deserved and expected.
Respectfully,
Mark St. Angelo
Brantford, ON
