What does Dominic Ruscio really want?

Dominic Ruscio insists he never wanted it to get to this.

He wanted to work with the Downtown Association.

He wanted to give it money.

He doesn't want to kill our downtown core.

Not even close.

"Why would we do that?" asks the man spearheading the drive to dissolve the Sault's Downtown Association.

"We are the downtown," he tells SooToday. "We've got more to lose than anyone else."

Still, in response to Ruscio's push, City Council tonight issued notice of its intention to pass a bylaw dissolving the 39-year-old business improvement area, turning its assets and liabilities over to the city.

After 60 days (in this case, June 19), if the number of returned repeal requests is at least 50 percent of current members, and at least 50 percent of taxes levied, the Downtown Association will be considered officially and automatically dead.

In an email sent earlier today to City Clerk Malcolm White, Ruscio advised that he would not be attending tonight's City Council meeting because council's decision was predetermined by the provincial Municipal Act.

A too-long building

Ruscio owns the Day's Inn and Suites at 332 Bay Street.

Normally, that address wouldn't be considered part of the Downtown Association, which covers the part of Queen Street traditionally known as Queenstown.

But Ruscio's building is a big one.

It stretches all the way to Queen Street, including the former NCO call centre, now vacant.

And that makes Ruscio a member of the downtown business improvement area (BIA), obliged to pay a downtown tax levy on the entire property,

"Half of my building is on Bay Street," he says. "The other half is on Queen Street. So I'm assessed on my whole building - 74,000 square feet....We to have to pay on this whole building even though we get no benefit on either side."

Last year, Ruscio was assessed more than $16,000 and he doesn't think he's getting value for that money.

Too much partying, not enough business

He accuses the Downtown Association of spending excessively on things like rent, meals and street parties.

He believes the directors and staff have become too wrapped up in hosting events, with not enough involvement in promoting downtown revitalization.

Ruscio says the association was reluctant to answer his questions and unwilling to change.

So eight months ago, he put together a group of his own.

So far, the business group has no name.

Ruscio wants to use 'downtown' in the name, and he feels the Downtown Association shouldn't be using that moniker if it doesn't represent the whole downtown.

Ruscio's supporters include downtown hotels, Station Mall and the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre.

He's recruited enough property owners to force City Council to put the matter to a binding vote.

"That was our last resort," he says. "This has been going on for almost two years."

"We weren't getting a lot of answers. There's a lot of businesses that are just unaware of what the associatiion does."

'They don't seem to handle criticisms or suggestions very well'

At last week's annual general meeting of the Downtown Association, Ruscio and his fellow downtown dissidents were painted as having few constructive ideas, of just wanting to get out of paying the obligatory downtown tax levy.

Ruscio says that's wrong and he feels hurt by the characterization.

"We don't believe this association is on the right track," he tells SooToday.

"They don't seem to handle criticisms or suggestions very well."

"It was not our first, second of third choice to go down this road. But we were left with no choice."

Ruscio says he's met with representatives of the Downtown Association board, offering numerous suggestions including the following:

Expanding the BIA's mandate to include all of the downtown, not just Queen Street.
Moving the association offices off Queen Street and sharing space with the Economic Development Corp. or Tourism Sault Ste. Marie, resulting in annual savings of $30,000 or $40,000.
Taking advantage of the association's current $100,000 surplus to cancel the levy this year and work over the next 12 months to remove unfairness from what Ruscio described as an "old, antiquated levy."
Refocus on the Downtown Association's formal mandate, with less emphasis on partying.
Review the wages paid to association staff.
Pay more attention to large property owners who pay the lion's share of the downtown levy.
A bigger role in resolving issues with problem properties like the embarrassing torn canopy that ended up receiving global attention on the Ellen deGeneres Show. "That's embarrassing for all of Sault Ste. Marie," Ruscio says. "The Downtown Association should have run down there and said: 'Listen, we're going to help you fix that canopy.'"

Ruscio says he's able to provide further ideas, but was not provided adequate financial information from the association on where its money is spent.

"They've been around for 39 years. We're just not seeing the benefit of it. We've given them over $1.7 million in the last 10 years. We just don't see the benefit. What have we gotten?"

"There doesn't seem to be another claim to fame for the downtown association when we ask: 'What have you achieved?' They keep going back to the events. We think the events are great, but it's consumed and taken over the association."

"We always wanted to work with the association. We were prepared to give them money. It was either all or nothing. So there was no compromise, and here we are."

Give peace a chance?

Is there any chance of a peaceful resolution between Ruscio's group and the downtown association?

No, says Ruscio.

"At this point, we're beyond that now. "

If the Downtown Assocation is dissolved, is Ruscio's group willing to step up to fill the void?

At this point, Ruscio wants to first see whether the Downtown Association is dissolved.

Right now, he sees no value having two associations downtown.

If his group does eventually step up, it won't be as a formal BIA, he says.

"We're funding this with our own money. There's no BIA, etc. We all believe that the downtown needs some help, so we're prepared to throw all our money into a pot. We have our ideas."

Ruscio says the vote could go either way: there are a lot of fence-sitters who fear the wrong decision might jeopardise their chances of doing business with the city.

The following, as released by City of Sault Ste. Marie, is a list of businesses that signed the request to repeal the Downtown Association. Their tax levies are shown in brackets:

1188188 Ontario Inc., 654 Queen Street East ($11,483)
Muio's Restaurants, 701 Queen Street East ($3,747)
Scarfone Eugene Joseph, 715 Queen Street East ($2,178)
747 Queen Street Developments Inc. ($41,759)
Peter Stone Holdings Ltd., 514 Queen Street East ($9,505)
Peter Stone Holdings Ltd., 518 Queen Street East ($2,426)
Newman Graham B. & Jane Elizabeth, 610 Queen Street East ($11,287)
1743503 Ontario Inc., 640 Queen Street East ($5,100)
Sar Gin Developments (Sault) 1531012 Ontario Inc., 384 Queen Street East ($34,032)
Valentino Furs Ltd., 446 Queen Street East, ($8,720)
Maich Gerard Peter, Gail Marie, 101 March Street, ($4.513)
Cugliettta Frank John, Eunice Marie, 482 Queen Street East ($2,952)
920809 Ontario Ltd., 451 Queen Street East, ($9,983)
Children's Aid Society of Algoma, 405 Queen Street East, ($23,180)
McCarda Holdings Inc., 369 Queen Street East, ($36,673)
Major Contracting (Algoma) Ltd., 345 Queen Street East, ($122,202)
Bell Canada, 311 Queen Street East, ($30,292)
Feifel Marta Rose, 625 Queen Street East, ($7,619)
Kap Holdings (Sault) Ltd., 535 Queen Street East, ($7,573)
Peter Stone Holdings Ltd., 527 Queen Street East, ($6,136)
Peter Stone Holdings Ltd., 523 Queen Street East, ($4,930)
Peter Stone Holdings Ltd., 519 Queen Street East, ($4,436)
920934 Ontario Ltd., 503 Queen Street East, ($37,092)
Fleming & Smith Ltd. In Trust, 473 Queen Street East, ($93,030)
Felton David, 708 Queen Street East, ($8,485)
IT Can (Sault) Holdings Inc., 775 Queen Street East, ($23,283)
DBR Property management Ltd., 801 Queen Street East, ($3.045)
Storozuk Sylvie, 817 Queen Street East, ($2,828)
1138989 Ontario Inc., 819 Queen Street East, ($2,797)
Remax Sault Ste. Marie Realty Inc., 853 Queen Street East, ($5,780)
Muio's Restaurant Ltd., 685 Queen Street East, ($6,167)
Mijos Management Corp., 681 Queen Street East, ($5,625)
Tassone Vitantonio, Anna Teresa, 673 Queen Street East, ($3,524)
Alan D. McLean Medicine Professional Corp., 667 Queen Street East, ($4,652)
Northern Advancement Capital Inc., 826 Queen Street East, ($10,479)
McGoldrick Jane Caroline, 756 Queen Street East, ($4,776)
LaBay Dennis Robert, 736 Queen Street East, ($3,887)
D'Orazio Tiana, Bridge Leslie, 720 Queen Street East, ($3,711)
1187818 Ontario Inc., 716 Queen Street East, ($3,045)
918148 Ontario Inc., 206 Queen Street East, ($4,822)
Professional Place (Sault Ste. Marie Ltd.), 212 Queen Street East, ($24,357)
Lepore Christopher Lorin, 248 Queen Street East, ($5,078)
1704660 Ontario Ltd., 250 Queen Street East, ($8,346)
McRain Developments Inc., 254 Queen Street East, ($18,901)
Pro-Ex Office Complex, 262 Queen Street East, ($15,872)
Holly Urso Holdings Ltd,, 298 Queen Street East, ($9,659)