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Senior city staff on firing line

Call news conference to insist fire stations land swap legit

By: Bartley Kives

Posted: 09/1/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Fire-paramedic Station No. 12 at 1780 Taylor Avenue.

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Fire-paramedic Station No. 12 at 1780 Taylor Avenue. (COLE BREILAND / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

CAUSES FOR ALARM

Problems with the city's plan to build four new fire-paramedic stations

COUNCIL APPROVAL

The problem: The request for proposals to build up to four new fire-paramedic stations called for council to approve the successful bidder. That didn't happen.

City response: Approval was no longer needed once a budget was approved for the $15.3-million project, which was broken down into four separate contracts, CAO Phil Sheegl said. City staff has the authority to approve contracts under $10 million, chief financial officer Mike Ruta said.

THE LAND SWAP

The problem: City councillors say they had no idea Winnipeg's fire-paramedic chief negotiated an agreement in principle to swap two old fire halls and a chunk of Fort Rouge land to Shindico Realty in exchange for the site of the new Station No. 12 on Taylor Avenue.

City response: In September or October, council will get the chance to either approve the land swap or pay Shindico $990,000 for the Taylor property, Sheegl said.

PREMATURE LISTING

The problem: Shindico briefly advertised the old Station No. 12 for lease on its website, even though it has no title to the property, which has yet to be declared surplus.

City response: Property director Barry Thorgrimson asked Shindico to remove the listing and Mayor Sam Katz admonished the company. Sheegl also said he will speak to Shindico, one of five firms qualified to sell city real estate.

PUBLIC PROPERTY ON PRIVATE LAND

The problem: Some councillors don't understand how the new Station No. 12 was built on Shindico's property.

City response: The city has a caveat on the Taylor Avenue property, said city solicitor Michael Jack. No matter what council decides, the city will have access to the fire hall, Sheegl said.

-- Bartley Kives

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Facing heat from city council, seven senior City of Winnipeg administrators say there's no reason for politicians or the public to worry about the way they procured four new fire- paramedic stations.

Councillors have raised concerns about the $15.3-million construction of new halls in Sage Creek, River Heights, Charleswood and St. James. The questioning began 10 days ago after Shindico Realty briefly listed the old Station No. 12 for lease even though council has yet to declare the Grosvenor Avenue property surplus.

Then, Winnipeg Fire-Paramedic Chief Reid Douglas disclosed he had reached an agreement in principle with Shindico to swap the new No. 12 station -- built on Taylor Avenue land still owned by Shindico executives -- for the old Grosvenor property as well as the existing No. 11 station on Berry Street and a chunk of Fort Rouge land on Mulvey Avenue East.

Finally, the city belatedly posted a 2009 request for proposals to build the fire halls, which called for the successful bidder to be approved by council -- a move that did not transpire.

After questions piled up, the chief administrative officer, chief financial officer, fire-paramedic chief, solicitor, chief operations officer, property director and corporate-finance materials manager gathered on Friday to insist, once and for all, the city followed due process on the fire-paramedic station replacement project.

"There's nothing that's been done that's untoward," chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl told reporters, declaring this capital project no different than any other.

The proposed land swap allowed the city to avoid having to find additional money to purchase land for a new Station No. 12, said Sheegl.

He promised council will have a chance this fall to either approve the deal or pay Shindico $990,000 for the Taylor land. In a statement, Mayor Sam Katz said the swift completion of a report about the deal is a priority because "the citizens of Winnipeg need to be able to have confidence in city processes."

Council did not have to approve a contract to build the paramedic stations -- as stated in the request for proposals -- because the project was broken down into four components, one for each fire-paramedic station, Sheegl added.

That's because the original request for proposals was to design and build the stations, while in the end, each station wound up with different needs, Sheegl said. For example, new No. 27 station Sage Creek wound up being a straight construction project on land purchased from Qualico after a one-size-fits-all design was located in Ontario.

In the end, Shindico wound up receiving four separate contracts, of $3 million, $3.2 million, $3.2 million and $5.9 million. The public service has the authority to approve any contract under $10 million, without council oversight, chief financial officer Mike Ruta said.

Sheegl also said there was no need for council approval once a budget was assigned to the project in July 2010, in a report that authorized $9.7 million of low-interest borrowing from Ottawa.

"I think we followed all the procedures and policies we have," the CAO said. "At the end of the day, this is a wonderful story. We have four new fire halls (and) our response times have improved in all those areas."

The reaction from councillors ranged from annoyance to contempt as some continue to complain about being left in the dark about the fire-paramedic upgrade. Normally, councillors are notified about changes to projects by capital budget documents, committee reports, memos or even verbal updates.

"I've known about parts of this verbally and I haven't seen a single piece of paper," seethed protection chairwoman Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood-Tuxedo).

"I don't know who within the bureaucracy is actually championing the project," added property chairman Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan). "If all the facts were clear, then this should have come out last week when the media started asking about it."

Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi said she remains unconvinced the project was handled properly. "I still believe there needs to be a full audit of this property transaction as well as others over the past few years," she said.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 1, 2012 A3

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About Bartley Kives

Bartley Kives wants you to know his last name rhymes with Beavis, as in Beavis and Butthead. He aspires to match the wit, grace and intelligence of the 1990s cartoon series.

Bartley joined the Free Press in 1998 as a music critic. He spent the ensuing 7.5 years interviewing the likes of Neil Young and David Bowie and trying to stay out of trouble at the Winnipeg Folk Festival before deciding it was far more exciting to sit through zoning-variance appeals at city hall.

In 2006, Bartley followed Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz from the music business into civic politics. He spent seven years covering city hall from a windowless basement office. He is now reporter-at-large for the Free Press and also writes a pair of columns – This City for Sunday Xtra and Offroad for the Outdoors page.

A canoeist, backpacker and food geek, Bartley is fond of conventional and wilderness travel. He is the author of A Daytripper’s Guide to Manitoba: Exploring Canada’s Undiscovered Province, the only comprehensive travel guidebook for Manitoba – and a Canadian bestseller, to boot.

Bartley appears every second Wednesday on CityTV’s Breakfast Television. His work has also appeared on CBC Radio and in publications such as National Geographic Traveler, explore magazine and Western Living.

Born in Winnipeg, he has an arts degree from the University of Winnipeg and a master’s degree in journalism from Ottawa’s Carleton University. He is the proud owner of a blender.

Bartley Kives on Twitter: @bkives

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