CLARINGTON -- The public needs more information on the Total Hockey collection, and the Municipality must be "open and transparent" about the issue, says Clarington's mayor.
"There are many questions that are unanswered and I hear that out in the public," said Mayor Jim Abernethy.
Clarington councillors received a report Monday indicating the collection has been appraised at about $51,000, a fraction of the original purchase price paid to Peter Puck creator Brian McFarlane for the collection in 2003.
Clarington paid about $225,000 for the collection and other interests, including so-called "soft services." Those services included consulting services from Mr. McFarlane and his wife, and the exhibition licence for Peter Puck, which Total Hockey could use in connection with events for a limited time.
What's not readily available from the Municipality is how the sale price breaks down, and what exactly was paid for the collection itself. Calls to Community Service director Joe Caruana were not returned.
Total Hockey opened amid much fanfare in October 2006, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in attendance. But last winter council made the decision to close the museum, after attendance figures showed far fewer people than a business plan anticipated had walked through the doors.
Organizations and individuals were invited to bid on the collection, with bids closing Oct. 31. The highest bid was $16,437.
Staff had asked that they be granted time to look at other options, keeping the collection in storage.
Instead, committee members gave preliminary approval Monday to referring the issue back to staff, to answer four specific questions: why the collection is worth less now than when purchased; why the trademark for Total Hockey hasn't been sold; what exactly is in the inventory; and an apples-to-apples comparison of appraisals in the inventory.
It's absolutely necessary to get those answers, even though it was a previous council that made the purchase, Mayor Abernethy said.
"I feel that this council owes it to the people of our community to get the answers so we can explain this," he said. "I've heard we've done apples to oranges comparisons. We need to know what we have, what we don't have, what it's worth.
"I know the answers to some of these questions, but I don't think it's coming through clearly to the public, so we need a more definitive report. We need to be open and transparent."
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