Council OKs $2.3M to cover fire hall cost overruns

Winnipeg city council has voted to spend $2.3 million to cover cost overruns for the construction of a partially built fire hall on Portage Avenue.

Forsome councillors, it was a "hold the nose and vote yes" kind of situation as they approved the additional spending Wednesday afternoon to cover extra costs related to adding a 3,500 square-foot expansion at Fire Station No. 11.

The extra spending wasrecommended by the executive policy committeelast week, but councillors have been asking questions about the project, such as why the expansion got the green light without council approval, and why the work is now over budget.

On Wednesday, some councillors said they still don't really know what the extramoney is for, and who really ordered the changes to the scope of the project.

Fire and paramedic Chief Reid Douglas told the city's protection committee last month thatrising construction costs and project delays drove up the costsof the Portage Avenue project.

Station 11, under construction near the Route 90 and Portage Avenue cloverleaf, is part of a larger land swap deal that is being reviewed by external auditors.

Douglas, head of Winnipeg's Fire Paramedic Service, is in the middle of that controversy as well for arranging a verbal agreement with local developer Shindico on the land swap.

On Wednesday, council delayed a decision on whether to declare three properties related to the land swaptwo former fire halls and a parcel of riverfront landas surplus, instead sending the matter back to the property committee.

Mayor Sam Katztook Douglas off the Station 11 projectlast month amid controversy about the Portage Avenue fire hall expansion, and put the city's property and planning department in charge of the job.

A report presented to the city claims thatDouglas changed the scope of the projectand had the authority to do so.