January 10, 2012 – Don’t touch the principal! That’s how members of the Cornwall & Area Chamber of Commerce responded when asked how the Progress Fund should be used to pay off the Benson Centre debt. The response comes from a survey undertaken by the Chamber last December.

The survey asked members to select from the following choices:

C    Use Progress Fund interest to pay off debt
C    Borrow from Fund with intention to pay back over a period of years
C    Take a lump sum from fund and pay debt in full

37.8% of respondents want the interest used to pay off the debt with 31.8% favour of borrowing from the fund and 15.1% suggesting that a lump sum be taken from the Fund to pay the debt in full. 10.6% of respondents suggested various other options including one that would see the Centre leased to the private sector and another that suggested channelling all Centre revenues into debt retirement.

“The results of the survey appear to confirm that the business community prefers the status quo, that being to use only the Progress Fund interest as a revenue source,” states Rick Shaver, Chamber President. “The Chamber’s Political Advisory Committee had reviewed the City’s policy in mid-2010 with respect to using only the Progress Fund interest and agreed that it was the most practical means of utilization.”