Steinbach mayoral candidate John Fehr says he has a plan for how an events centre could be built in Steinbach.

Fehr says council needs to target a one-third, one-third, one-third approach, involving the private sector, city of Steinbach and upper levels of government.

"I believe we can achieve this without raising our taxes," says Fehr. "I know that may be hard to believe, but it is not."

Fehr explains the city currently has a reserve fund set up. Each year the city puts about $1.1 million into this fund. He notes the city has $300,000 in its annual budget for purchasing downtown properties, though council has exceeded that amount by $450,000 for the past three years.

"So if we change our amortization term to say 15 or 20 years, we have annual payments of less than we have been spending per year the past two years because we already are paying this amount into a reserve and we have purchased all the houses downtown that we are planning to," notes Fehr. "So in reality, we would be spending no more annually than we are now."

Fehr says when you look at the generous public support for a project like this, there is a strong case to lobby the federal and provincial governments for additional money.

"I believe when we show them strong community support our case is much more appealing to them," he says. "If we just go to them and ask them to contribute without this, our case is weak,"

Fehr notes it will take many significant partners to move this project forward but he says there is generous support from the community.

"I would like to see other community partners who may be in the surrounding area consider how they could be involved in this project," adds Fehr. "Many communities around the country are using some very innovative ideas to build these facilities."

He gives the example of Summerside, Prince Edward Island which takes in $750,000 in sponsorships annually, which he believes would be seen in Steinbach as well.

"Should one of these proponents not come to the table, we would simply scale back our initial scope of the project," says Fehr. "The ratio would remain the same."

He says if one of the partners does not participate, they would need to scale back the project so as not to increase taxes just to get it all done. Fehr adds the city should never be placed in a compromising position.

"To do nothing, to me is not an option, " says Fehr. "If we continue to wait, the cost of the project will continue to escalate and we don't want that."