Rapid transit remains alive as council approves Hydro land sale

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 andkill the Southwest Transitway's second phase altogether.

Toward the end of a wildmeeting interrupted by a surprise mid-morningclosed-door seminar, council voted 11-5to 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 quicklyacquire 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.

• Fate of rapid transit may hinge on squeaker of a council vote on Hydro land

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 andbuy the Hydro land, defeatingthe 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 Hydrodeal 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 Transitwayand planning the East Transitway, which will connect downtown to Transcona. In 2014,Bowman promised to complete sixtransit corridors by 2030.

Wednesday's debate took place later than expectedbecause 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

Eightof 16 members of council metbehind closed doors to heardetails about thepublic-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 consortiumPlenary Roads, Bowman said.

Wyatt accuses mayor of intimidation

Eightcouncillorsrefused toattend the seminarbecause 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, accusedBowman 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 representativesare beingtreated like children by this mayor. It's really unfortunate. It's a paternalistic approachand attitude. And it doesn'tdo anything to build trust and confidence."

Mayor says Wyatt 'often angry'

Bowman said Wyatt's behaviour at city hall speaks for itself, notingthe Transcona councillor is often angry andsuggested 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 phaseof the Southwest Transitway.

"Many members of council, myself included, hadasked for information that was provided. It wouldn'tbe provided, we were told by the administration, unless those non-disclosure agreements were signed," Bowman said over lunch.

Some councillors refuse to signnon-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,DeviSharma (OldKildonan)andRossEadie(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 thepublic works chair on his executive policy committee.

"I respecther views and thecontributions 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 topicand the Southwest Transitway is one of the biggest capital projects in the city's history, the mayor said."It'snot unprecedented for divergent views on something of this scale," he added.

Lukesinsisted 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 biggestsupporters ofrapid transit. It'svery important to me. I do not want to cancelit. Ido not want to change theroute. But I do not want a precedentset," she said.

"I just really wanted to see more council members stand up and try and do a little more to get bettervalue for these Hydro lands, so it's frustrating."