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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Expropriation plan a shocker

Hobby shop owners not notified of intent to demolish building

By: Bartley Kives

Posted: 03/31/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

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Mike Gobeil says he heard about the expropriation plans from a construction official, not the city.

The owners of a hobby shop that specializes in remote-controlled cars and aircraft are wondering why the City of Winnipeg couldn't pilot an expropriation letter to their door.

Mike and Laurrie Gobeil were shocked to learn Tuesday the reconstruction of the Disraeli Freeway calls for potential destruction of the Higgins Avenue building they purchased in December to house their 20-year-old hobby business, Eliminator-RC.

Last week, the city's chief administrative officer told city councillors the $195-million rehabilitation of the 1.1-kilometre Disraeli Freeway could mean the expropriation of two homes and acquisition of all or part of 17 other properties.

Councillors were told all of the affected owners had been notified.

But on Tuesday morning, Mike Gobeil found out his new South Point Douglas property was also on the expropriation list -- not from the city, but from a PCL construction official.

"They want the whole building. They thought they sent a letter and they didn't. It's pretty crazy and it's totally ruining my life," said Gobeil, who says he and his family spent $1 million acquiring the property and expanding their business.

"This is a perfect example of the way the city does business and how disorganized they are."

The city has planned to rebuild the Disraeli Freeway since 2006, when inspections revealed pending structural problems in the 50-year-old freeway, which includes bridges over both the CPR Keewatin line and the Red River.

In 2008, a $140-million rehabilitation plan that would have seen the freeway remain closed during construction called for the potential expropriation of 16 properties. All of their owners were notified by 2009, city spokesman Ed Shiller said. But late last year, the city and province agreed to a new Disraeli plan that would cost $195 million and allow some lanes to remain open during the entire construction period.

The final design unveiled this January would see a new bridge built over the Red River, with the piers from the older bridge reused for a bike-and-pedestrian bridge.

Shiller said the land-use implications of the new design added three more properties to the expropriation list.

Letters were mailed a week ago, on March 24, he said.

Gobeil said he did not receive one and is upset he learned of the expropriation from a construction official during a meeting he believed would be about fibre-optic cable that runs below the existing freeway.

"I'd like them to buy me another building close by on Higgins and make it equal to what I have. I'm not looking for money. I want to be relocated," he said.

The former owner of the building, Marshall/Northwest Fabrics, also said it received no warning of expropriation from the city before it sold the property, business manager Carly Klassen said.

The city simply had no idea back in December, Shiller said. "Certainly the intent was to notify the property owners by mail," he added.

Expropriations must be handled more sensitively, said Point Douglas Coun. Mike Pagtakhan, adding he is disturbed by the way Gobeil has been treated.

The city will negotiate with all property owners affected by the Disraeli construction, Shiller pledged.

The city will not disclose how much money it has set aside for Disraeli expropriations.

Late last year, it increased its budget for reaching 11 expropriation settlements along the Southwest Rapid Transit Corridor to $18 million from $12 million.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 31, 2010 B1

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