Councillor, chief take shots at each other over police station plan

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2017 (3084 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpvideo:sNM3R0ec:wfpvideo

Coun. Ross Eadie said police chief Danny Smyth acted improperly when he issued a statement Friday criticizing him for disclosing the city may demolish a football facility used by a community non-profit group to make way for a replacement north end police station.

Eadie said he disclosed the plans this week because he felt it was his duty as an elected official representing the interests of North End residents who use the Charlie Krupp Stadium and said he shouldn’t be attacked by Smyth for doing that

“It is an attack (on me) and I don’t think it’s appropriate,” Eadie (Mynarksi) said. “It’s not appropriate at all.”

The Charlie Krupp Stadium, located on the western edge of the Old Exhibition Grounds, opposite the McPhillips Street Station casino, is home to the North Winnipeg Nomads football club, which fields six teams for area youths ranging in age from 7 to 22. The Nomads, which have been using the facility for 20 years, were unaware the city had targeted the facility until contacted by media Thursday.

As a non-profit group, the Nomads pay a nominal $1 annual fee to lease the stadium facilities but are responsible for its maintenance.

The Old Exhibition Grounds is a 44-acre civic-owned recreational site, north of the CPR lines, between McPhillips and Sinclair streets, which includes the football stadium, a de-commissioned hockey arena, baseball diamonds, a soccer field, and an area informally used as an off-leash dog park.

Smyth said Eadie “needlessly inflamed the situation,” with his “unfortunate and disappointing remarks.”

Smyth issued the statement over the noon hour Friday, a day after Eadie had disclosed that civic officials had targeted the stadium site and one other on the Old Exhibition grounds as the most likely site for a new north end police station.

Smyth said in his statement that police were planning a public consultation process before deciding on a location but that Eadie’s actions have now undermined that process.

“Before we could even begin on this consultation process, it was circumvented,” by Eadie, Smyth said.

Smyth confirmed, through his statement, that police want to construct a replacement north end station somewhere on the Old Ex grounds but a decision hadn’t been made where on the property the station will be built.

“The preferred site is the Old Exhibition Grounds on McPhillips Street,” Smyth said. “The site is much bigger than what our needs require, and as such, we are undergoing the process of determining the best way to utilize a portion of the property.

“Our plan was to conduct extensive discussions with local stakeholders (including community residents and the Nomads, among others) before any option was adopted.”

However, Eadie said Smyth is misleading the public by claiming a decision hasn’t been made on where to build the new police station, adding the only site that meets the needs of the police is the stadium because of its direct access to McPhillips Street.

Eadie said there are other locations in the north end where a new police station could be built, but they were ruled out because of cost.

“I read the beginning of (Smyth’s) statement, ‘we care about diversity, tada, tada, tada, da – yak, yak, yak,’” Eadie said. “Those are nice, proud little statements to make but the reality is if the north end is to get police service, there are better places to deliver it from than getting rid of a sports field for 300 kids playing football.”

Eadie said Smyth had not contacted him about the issue.

Eadie, who is a member of the Winnipeg Police Board, said he could not comment on whether he would raise Smyth’s conduct with the board, adding it’s a possibility that Smyth had already contacted the board about Eadie’s comments.

Police board chairman David Asper said he would not comment on the situation until he’s consulted other board members.

“I am aware of the news stories involving Coun. Eadie and potential locations for the new North District Police Station. I think the comments of Chief Smyth are self-explanatory. The Winnipeg Police Board treats confidentiality as a sacred and fundamental aspect of its relationship with the Winnipeg Police Service. It is essential to consult with other members of the Board on this matter and until that is complete, I will be making no further comment.”

Eadie said that while the site selection details had been presented to the police board’s finance committee about two months ago, he had learned of the plans before that from a senior civic official.

Mayor Brian Bowman said he hadn’t read Smyth’s statement and would not comment on whether Smyth’s decision to publicly criticize an elected official is appropriate.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca