Rapid transit remains alive as council approves Hydro land sale
Vote caps off wild council day marked by wildcat seminar, accusations of intimidation
Winnipeg's purchase of Manitoba Hydro land needed to complete the city's first bus corridor is going ahead, despite efforts at city council to delay the acquisition and kill the Southwest Transitway's second phase altogether.
Toward the end of a wild meeting interrupted by a surprise mid-morning closed-door seminar, council voted 11-5 to buy 16 acres of Hydro land in Fort Garry for $19 to $20.4 million.
Winnipeg Transit needs this land to complete the Southwest Transitway. The $137-million first phase of the bus corridor runs 3.6 kilometres, from Queen Elizabeth Way near The Forks to Jubilee Avenue near Pembina Highway.
The $587-million second phase — a project that includes the widening of Pembina Highway below Jubilee Avenue — will run seven kilometres further, to the University of Manitoba's Fort Garry campus.
Winnipeg Transit director Dave Wardrop warned council the city needs to quickly acquire the Hydro lands, located in Fort Garry's Parker, Beaumount and Maybank neighbourhoods, in order to allow construction on the bus corridor to proceed this summer. Delays will cost the city, at minimum, $200,000 to $300,000, Mayor Brian Bowman said.
But the high cost of the Hydro land, which the city initially hoped to purchase of $4.7 million, led several city councillors to balk at the deal.
Couns. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) and Russ Wyatt (Transcona) authored a motion to put off the purchase of the Hydro land until the Pallister government ensures the Crown corporation enter into mediation or arbitration about the purchase price.
Couns. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) and Shawn Dobson (St. Charles), meanwhile, seized the opportunity to author a motion to kill the second phase of the Southwest Transitway altogether.
After six hours of debate, punctuated by delays, councillors decided to hold their collective noses and buy the Hydro land, defeating the motions to delay the purchase and scuttle the completion of the transitway. Only Dobson, Lukes, Wyatt, Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) and Scott Gillingham (St. James-Brooklands) voted against the purchase.
"I look at the whole agreement and it is OK. It's not so bad that we should delay it and increase costs," said council property chair John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry). He said the increased cost of the Hydro purchase is within the contingency for the $587-million Southwest Transitway completion budget and noted the Hydro deal offers land-licensing benefits for the city.
Bowman called the Hydro deal "acceptable" and said he's pleased the city is showing progress on rapid transit, both in terms of completing the Southwest Transitway and planning the East Transitway, which will connect downtown to Transcona. In 2014, Bowman promised to complete six transit corridors by 2030.
Wednesday's debate took place later than expected because council ducked out for an hour during the morning to attend an impromptu closed-door seminar about aspects of the plan to build the Southwest Transitway's second phase
Eight of 16 members of council met behind closed doors to hear details about the public-private partnership involved in the construction project. On June 24, Winnipeg Transit plans to disclose cost savings achieved as part of a collaborative design with construction consortium Plenary Roads, Bowman said.
Wyatt accuses mayor of intimidation
Eight councillors refused to attend the seminar because they refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement about the public-private partnership. Some, like St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes, expressed objections to voting in public about information they received in private.
Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt, who also walked out, accused Bowman of trying intimidate council into voting in favour of the Hydro land purchase.
"This is not the way you run a city," Wyatt said during the recess. "Elected representatives are being treated like children by this mayor. It's really unfortunate. It's a paternalistic approach and attitude. And it doesn't do anything to build trust and confidence."
Mayor says Wyatt 'often angry'
Bowman said Wyatt's behaviour at city hall speaks for itself, noting the Transcona councillor is often angry and suggested Wyatt will probably blame him for causing winter in a few months.
The mayor said all councillors deserved the opportunity to hear more information about the cost savings that will be achieved as a result of the city working with a private company to develop the second phase of the Southwest Transitway.
"Many members of council, myself included, had asked for information that was provided. It wouldn't be provided, we were told by the administration, unless those non-disclosure agreements were signed," Bowman said over lunch.
Some councillors refuse to sign non-disclosure
South Winnipeg-St. Norbert Coun. Janice Lukes, who also walked out, said the new information was irrelevant to the debate over whether the city should approve the land deal.
Couns. Dobson, Browaty, Schreyer, Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) and Ross Eadie (Mynarski) also refused to sign the non-disclosure agreement or attend the meeting.
Bowman said he had no issue with Lukes walking out of the seminar or trying to delay the vote on the Hydro sale, even though she serves as the public works chair on his executive policy committee.
"I respect her views and the contributions that she's making to city hall," he said, noting former council public works chair Justin Swandel also voted against rapid transit on at least one occasion.
Rapid transit is a controversial topic and the Southwest Transitway is one of the biggest capital projects in the city's history, the mayor said. "It's not unprecedented for divergent views on something of this scale," he added.
Lukes insisted her sole concern was the precedent that may be set by paying Hydro so much for its Fort Garry land.
"I am one of the biggest supporters of rapid transit. It's very important to me. I do not want to cancel it. I do not want to change the route. But I do not want a precedent set," she said.
"I just really wanted to see more council members stand up and try and do a little more to get better value for these Hydro lands, so it's frustrating."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
