Although City officials and area politicians have often expressed hope that scientific research at Trent and Sir Sandford Fleming College would result in a new commercial industry, two co0uncillors said they aren't prepared to commit to the cluster's construction project.

Ashburnham Coun. Len Vass said the cluster's representatives still have many questions to answer about what the initiative is and how it will operate.

"I'm not going to support something based on smoke and mirrors and good intentions," he said. "It's not our job to build the cluster. I'm not going to buy in until I have the facts."

At Monday's committee of the whole meeting, counsillors will be asked to make a $2-million four-year commitment to the cluster, which will help offset building costs. The cluster initiative wants to build four 22,013-square-foot buildings along East Bank Drive just east of the Otonabee College student residence.

Councillors will also be asked to approve a site plan for the proposed cluster development.

The city's share of the $25-million project is less than 10 per cent, a city report states.

"It is not the intent of this report to detail the merits of the DNA cluster as this has been presented on numerous occasions," the report notes.

However, Vass said he has questions over who owns the intellectual property which is coming out of Trent.

Ashburnham Coun. Terry Guiel said he supports the cluster in theory, but said the city has far too many flood-proofing projects to consider before it makes multi-million dollar commitments to the DNA Cluster.

"We must support this project but we can't afford this expenditure," he said. "We need all the money we can to deal with the sewer issue. I'll tell them Monday night, 'You can forget about it.'"

However, Monaghan Coun. Jack Doris said the investment is a down payment on the city's future development.

"I think (the cost) is reasonable," Doris said. "It's no different than any other industrial park we have established."

Doris said the city's investment will be repaid "many times over" in the future as science projects from Trent and Fleming are transformed into the basis for companies. [OurTrent Editor's note: No details of the this return to the city were specified.]

A city report also suggests the city will recoup its costs "over time from leasing revenues." Unlike other industrial parks, the city won't own the land and sell off lots to companies. The university will continue to own the land. Some revenue sharing scenarios are being considered, the report notes.

The DNA Cluster refers to an ongoing marketing initiative where officials promote the area as a centre for DNA research. It is hoped that by marketing the area and providing research space, people will be encouraged to take research projects and translate these ideas into companies.

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