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And around the athletic faciliâ€" ty park users can enjoy the 18â€" hole Grey Silo golf course, a numâ€" ber of sports fields and baseball diamonds, trails, and a nature centre. "All you have to do is step inside RIM â€" Park and you immediately realize there‘s nothâ€" ing like it," said Coun. Dave Roeder. "Talking to people from other cities, they‘re envious of what we have. I am so proud of it, and my family is proud of it." Mayor Lynne Woolstencroft called the planned research and technology park a $214â€"million project that will sit on 100 acres of the university‘s north campus an insurance policy on the future wellâ€"being of Waterloo. "We have no doubt that the university‘s stellar reputation in technology will be enhanced by A year in review Mayor, councillors reflect on Waterloo‘s highs and lows in 2001 By Anorea Baicey _ Chronicle Staff "I know I speak for all of us when I say how grateful we are for this magnificent jewel in our crown." the research park," she said. Another piece of good news came when â€" the city was announced national winner of the Communities in Bloom award in September, receiving five ‘blooms‘ for community beautifiâ€" cation. Ward councillors also basked in the successes each has seen in their designated areas over the past year. Accomplishments â€" included trail _ development, _ surface upgrades, creek rehabilitation, traffic studies, and upgrades to passive recreation areas, such as Waterloo Park. However, there was no denyâ€" ing the city has also faced its share of lows in the last 12 months. Leading the list of negatively may be the controversy surroundâ€" ing the financing of RIM Park. When the financial agreement Coun. Dave Roeder PAGE 3 was arranged between the city and MFP Financial Services of Mississauga in 2000, the city believed $112 million would be owed over a 30â€"year period, based on an interest rate of 4.73 per cent In reality, however, as the city later found out, the cost of the debt, which MFP sold in the meantime to the Clarica Life Insurance Co. and the Maritime Life Assurance Company, sat at $227 million with an interest rate of over nine per cent, which more than doubled the cost of the proâ€" ject. The city is now engaged in a lawsuit over the deal, and has named MFP Financial Services, one of its viceâ€"presidents Dave Robson, Clarica and the Maritime Life Assurance Company as litiâ€" gants. The suit calls for the rescission of the head lease and subâ€"lease agreements for the recreation facility; and alleges fraud, deceit and fraudulent misrepresentation Mayor Lynne Woolstencroft On top of the controversy surâ€" rounding the cost of the park, many residents were opposed to the name of the facility changing from the Millennium Recreation Park to RIM Park, following a $2â€" million donation to the facility from the local highâ€"tech firm Research In Mqtion, _ on the part of MFP and Robson, in regards to the effective rate of interest and total rent payable by the city over the 30â€"year lease agreement. _ "Citizens are rightly concerned about the City of Waterloo‘s RIM Park financing," Woolstencroft "I‘m Jooking forward to that litâ€" tle black cloud disappearing from over our heads, and for the day when people can just stand back and enjoy the facility," said Coun. Bruce Anderson. But the negativity surrounding RIM Park was not the only source of municipal disappointment. _ "We also felt exceedingly disâ€" appointed when the plans for Coun. Bruce Anderson Looking For a New or Preâ€"owned BMW Waterloo Town â€" Square â€" fell through," said Woolstencroft, referring to the collapse of the First Gulf Development Corporation‘s uptown redevelopâ€" ment scheme. "We still aspire to have a hotel in the core and an enlarged unusual Zehrs market to meet the needs of the growing numbers of residents in our city‘s central disâ€" trict." Woolstencroft also included the redevelopment of Waterloo Town Square and the Canbar lands as a future challenge for the city, as well as adequate library facilities, sufficient affordable housing for students and seniors, attraction of young families to the core, and the fate of the city‘s aging infrastructure. But she also said the city has a lot to look forward to over the next year, starting with continued economic progress and leaderâ€" ship in the field of technology, and recreational highlights, like hosting The Davis Cup tennis tournament in February and the Ontario Summer Games. www.bâ€"kmotors.com "It has been an eventful and productive year," Woolstencroft said. "So, while many citizens and some members of the press have been preoccupied with RIM Park, its naming and its finances, the staff and council of the City of Waterloo have continued to dediâ€" cate themselves to the task of creâ€" ating a vibrant city. "We are dynamic. We‘ve grown a steady clip. Waterloo‘s industries have, for the most part, held their own. Our major businesses have expanded.. "If you look around, there is a brisk business in house building and renovation going on. Unlike many of our counterparts, we have a number of things for which to be thankful."