Brantford’s minor sports ice users have been left with a bad taste in their mouths.

The cause of the bitterness is city council’s decision to cut $5.5 million worth of proposed improvements to the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. The Gretzky centre is currently undergoing a $48.6 million renovation.

The decision to cut items from the renovation came after council learned that the project was expected to be more than $7 million over budget.

The Brantford Minor Hockey Association, Brantford Girls Hockey Association and Brantford Church Hockey League have sent a letter to city councillors and local media expressing their distaste at the project changes.

The letter criticizes those in charge of the project for allowing it to run over budget and suggests more time should have been taken to consider the long-term implications of settling for a “lesser facility.”

"The citizens of Brantford must demand answers as to how something, that everyone should look forward to and be proud of, has turned into a financial nightmare," the letter says. "Yes, the intentions of those involved are admirable, however, they have tarnished the future.

“Not only is the youth of Brantford affected, but anyone and everyone who is concerned about an enhanced, healthier lifestyle for now and years to come."

Carolyn Rollins, president of the BMHA, said the intention of the letter is to shine a light on what she believes is a shortsighted approach.

“When you think about the fact that it took us 40 years to get a new arena and now we’re going to settle for a facility that doesn’t support the users,” she said. “We really want councillors to sit down and make a conscious decision rather than rush into it.”

Rollins also said she hoped the facility would be designed with the users’ needs in mind and that, if necessary, fundraising should be considered an option.

“The ideal outcome would be to look at what is fluff and what is not," she said. "If we need to do fundraising then we need to realize that and do it … To build a product that is going to be a legacy for 40 or 50 years, we need to do it so that it benefits the community."

On Monday, councillors heard from consultant MHPM Project Managers Inc., which was hired to suggest ways that the budget could be cut.

After hearing from the consultants, councillors voted in favour of cutting $5.5 million worth of changes.

Since receiving the letter from the user groups and additional information from the consulting group, Coun. Dan McCreary said the issue will be reconsidered at council on Monday.

“I suspect and hope that all members of council will reconsider the decisions we made,” he said.

McCreary said the project had gone over budget because initial plans for the new four-pad failed to take certain costs into consideration, including demolition.

“If we’re successful on Monday, that adds the extra seating and the therapy pool and allows us to finish on time, but it would put us over budget,” he said. “There’s no way I would approve it going to the taxpayer. We have other capital projects that we would take the money from.”

As it stands, council’s decision means that the rinks will be built with 350 seats per arena and the intended space for the Sports Hall of Recognition will be scaled down. In addition, 100 parking spaces will be slashed and a therapy pool and wellness centre would not be built as planned.

The Gretzky centre renovation is being funded equally by the federal, provincial and municipal governments.