City councillors have deferred until next Monday all debate on Brant MPP Dave Levac's idea to build a new casino and a sports complex on quarry lands in the northwest

After a lengthy and often spirited debate Monday, a majority of councilors voted to wait to discuss a resolution by Coun. John Sless to resurrect the city's casino task force group to discuss with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. the possible relocation of Casino Brantford.

The delay will permit the return from vacation of Mayor Mike Hancock and Coun. Mark Littell.

The move was made after Levac and Scott Higgins, vice-president of King and Benton, which owns the quarry lands, made presentations to council's committee of the whole on the controversial concept, which the MPP has called a "blue-sky" exercise.

Among the plan's main elements:

King and Benton would turn over some of its 450 acres of disused quarry property on Oak Park Road just north of Highway 403 to OLG to build a new casino. Unspecified partners would build a sports complex at the same location, which would include a 5,000-seat arena and a four ice pads.

Laurier Brantford and other possible partners would take over the current casino and the civic centre to be rebuilt to serve sports, recreation and other purposes.

The Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre would not have to go through a major, expensive expansion that council has been considering.

Levac said he had to move quickly last Monday to unveil his plan to four councillors -- Sless, Vince Bucci, John Bradford and Marguerite Ceschi- Smith -- in a closed-door "information session" that did not include the mayor. That's because the OLG is about to consider moving ahead with a $25- million upgrade of the current casino on Icomm Drive.

The MPP stressed that he did not intend to slight Hancock by not informing him ahead of time, which has raised the ire of some councillors. He also implored the committee to get past problems of "process" and concentrate discussion on the concept.

To Levac's disappointment, however, much of the discussion focused on the way he presented his idea, which became a major controversy last week.

Bradford, who tried to move a deferral at the beginning of the debate, said he didn't buy Levac's contention that his idea was "blue-skying" and said too few people were involved early on.

"Normally, that would involve getting all the players in a room together, then brainstorming," he said. "I call it 'caterpillar planning' because the idea was being kept in a cocoon."

Coun. Richard Carpenter said he be-lives Hancock was indeed slighted by the timing of Levac's presentation, since the MPP knew the mayor was leaving on vacation.

Carpenter pointed out to Levac that the MPP could have talked over his idea with Hancock at the mayor's new year's levee. "Why did you not do it then?" he asked him.

Levac said he had a "head full of things" at the time and the opportunity slipped his mind.

Coun. Jennifer Kinneman said she can accept further discussion of the plan. But she noted that she is concerned that the large number of partners needed to make the project work could easily cause the whole thing to "fall apart like a house of cards."

Sless read a prepared statement explaining how he had participated in arranging that first meeting right after a conversation with Levac at the mayor's levee.

"The real question here is: what are the merits of this concept and should we, as a city, take a closer look at it and gather more information it?" Sless argued.

"I fail to see why anyone would not want to have a closer look at something that allows Laurier and the postsecondary institutions in our city to achieve a large part of their goals, takes two items, the civic centre and the Gretzky arenas, off of our plate as far as infrastructure renewal is concerned, about $75-million worth, and repositions the casino into a high-profile location on a 400-series highway, which studies show will increase their volume and thus the city's take of their revenues."

Ceschi-Smith said she is "surprised and disturbed" at the speed at which proponents of the proposal are moving.

And she is concerned about the fate of facilities and services currently available to Eagle Place and East Ward residents in the civic centre and Earl Haig park.

Article ID# 1385366