Council committee OKs covering $2.3M fire hall overruns

The City of Winnipeg may be covering $2.3 million in cost overruns related to the expansion of a partially-built fire hall on Portage Avenue.

City council's executive policy committee agreed on Wednesday to recommend that the city cover the additional costs related to adding a 3,500 square-foot expansion at Fire Station No. 11.

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.

It will be up to council as a whole to make a final decision on the spending.

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

Douglas insisted that the cost overruns had nothing to do with changes to the building's design that he had approved.

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

Douglas is in the middle of that controversy as well, for arranging a verbal agreement with local developer Shindico on the land swap, which was also done without council approval.

Fire hall land swap killed

On Tuesday, the city's property committee voted to start the negotiation process towards buying Shindico-owned property on Taylor Avenue where the city has already built a new fire hall.

The fire hall was built on the land, even though the city does not own it, as part of a controversial land swap deal between Shindico and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

In a move that effectively kills the land swap deal, the committee has recommended that both the city and Shindico obtain separate appraisals of the land in order to come up with some kind of purchase price.

But Shindico president Sandy Shindlemantold CBC News that no one from the city has contacted his company about plans to negotiate a deal for property on Taylor Avenue where the city built a new fire station.

Shindleman said his company will not comment further on the Taylor Avenue fire hall situation until the city contacts him.

Alex Forrest, president of the Union of Firefighters of Winnipeg, says he worries the land swap and other mistakes that were made in the process to build new fire paramedic stations could jeopardize future plans.

Forrest told council's executive policy committee on Wednesday afternoon that cost overruns and deals to buy the Taylor Avenue property may impact the construction of three much-needed fire halls.

Forrest said the city needs new fire stations in Waverley West and replacement stations on Cottonwood and Whytewold.

Those new stations are in the planning stages, but Forrest said he is concerned that councillors may use funds earmarked for those projects to cover increased costs for the current projects, especially the cost overrunsassociated with the Portage Avenuefire hall project.

Shindico criticizes committee for nixing downtown contract

Meanwhile, Shindleman said he believes politics are behindthe property committee's move to cancel its contract with his company to manage a downtown office tower.

Shindleman said the city had no reason to cancel the management contract Shindico had for the 11-storey tower, located at the former Canada Post building on Graham Avenue.

The Winnipeg Police Service will be moving its headquarters into another part of the property, once renovations to the building are complete.

The property committee voted on Tuesday to terminate the contract in 90 days. City officials will then issue a new request for proposals to manage the building.

Committee chairman Coun. Jeff Browaty said a previous request for a quote on services at the office building did not include managing the property, and it should have been more specific.

But Shindleman called the decision a political move.

The contract was originally awarded to Shindico when it brokered the city's $29-million purchase of the Canada Post building from the federal government.