Mayoral contenders focus on recreation funding, 911, littered streets

Community centre funding, 911 and 311 services, and clamping down on litterbugs dominated the mayoral election campaign Friday, while a fourth candidate said voters would have to stay tuned for his promises.

Incumbent Scott Gillingham promised to work with the federal and provincial governments to set up a $60-million fund for community centres, that would be split three ways.

“We’ve seen again and again that when the city steps up with a serious plan and a financial commitment and puts real money on the table, other governments are willing to come to the table, too,” he said.

The fund would pay for repairs and upgrades at community centres and recreation facilities.

He also pledged to upgrade two aging sports fields annually, if re-elected Oct. 28.

Gillingham spoke to reporters after meeting with students at Oak Park High School in Charleswood. He said the field where they play soccer and football, which was repaired in 2018, has gone through “years of hard use.”

He pointed to the field, along with the recent announcement that the North Winnipeg Nomads will have to find a new home after its North End field was deemed unfit, as “prime candidates” for his renewal plan, which involves installing artificial turf on two high-use fields a year beginning in 2027.

“When a field becomes unusable, it’s more than just an infrastructure problem, it becomes a community problem,” Gillingham said.

“It means the loss of a season for a team. It can mean fewer opportunities for kids to play, and it takes away one of those places that brings the neighbourhood together.”

Converting a field to artificial turf can cost several hundred thousand dollars to millions, Gillingham said.

He said funding to upgrade fields would be new spending and separate from his proposed community centre fund.

He promised the city would add staff to support volunteer boards at community centres in terms of governance and project planning.

Gillingham’s perceived main contender, Kevin Klein, didn’t have much to say Friday. Instead, he said he’ll start to unroll his pledges next week.

While voting day is just six weeks away, Klein said he thinks the timing of his campaign won’t matter to voters when they see his plan compared to other candidates’ proposals.

“What matters most to me is not the timing. What matters most to me is that Winnipeggers see my vision and they see what we will do and what I will try to accomplish as mayor,” he said.

Candidate Mike Vogiatzakis focused on calls to 911 and 311.

He said receiving an automated hold message during a 911 call “must become the rare exception, not an accepted experience.” He vowed to begin a review of peak call volumes, staffing, and a surge plan for emergency situations where 911 may be overwhelmed.

Vogiatzakis said he wants callers to 311 be connected directly to city departments. Currently, 311 acts as the go-between by passing on queries to city departments and relaying the response to callers.

“When possible, the communication hub will connect you directly with a designated representative from the correct department,” he said in a statement Friday. “If that person is unavailable, you will receive a defined callback window.”

For his part, Don Woodstock promised a crackdown on vandals and litterbugs.

He wants offenders to perform 500 hours of community service for littering, illegal dumping, spraying graffiti on buildings or loitering.

Further violations could incur fines starting at $5,000, “alongside continued punitive labour,” he said.

“You would never allow someone to walk into your home with dirty shoes and wipe them on your living room rug, yet the current leadership has treated our city that way for years,” Woodstock said in a news release.

Earlier this week, Woodstock said if he ran the city, he’d implement a more aggressive approach to seizing problem properties.

Burned buildings that are safety hazards would be demolished within 24 hours, and negligent building owners would be given 30 days to get properties up to code before the building is expropriated by the city.

He said a “mandatory bond fund” would be created for emergency remediation or demolition costs.

Heritage buildings that sit vacant for over a year or have severe structural failures would have their heritage designation stripped, Woodstock said, which would require owners to either clear the site or upgrade it.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca