Budget barely addresses urgent riverbank erosion, councillors told

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This article was published 07/03/2019 (2403 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City hall needs to spend $60 million to deal with riverbank erosion at 27 critical areas across the city but there is only $500,000 in the budget this year.

John Kiernan, director of the planning, property and development department, told councillors on the environment committee Thursday morning there isn’t enough money to properly address the problem.

“Land that is lost to (riverbank) erosion is gone forever. We’re not getting it back,” he said.

Kiernan’s department was the first to undergo the city’s 2019 budget review process. The department is planning to spend $500,000 for riverbank stabilization in 2019 and $2.4 million between 2019 and 2024.

The committee reviewed the water and waste department budget in the afternoon. No changes were proposed for either department’s budget.

Elsewhere, the public works committee was reviewing the budgets of the public works department and Winnipeg Transit Thursday.

The Winnipeg Police Board will review the Winnipeg Police Service budget Friday.

At Thursday morning’s meeting, residents Doug Leeies and Angela Helgason urged committee councillors to find $400,000 for riverbank stabilization for Columbus House, a seven-storey seniors housing co-op located at a bend in the Red River, near Nairn Avenue and Archibald Street.

The committee passed a motion in June to include the funds for consideration in the 2019 budget process, but when the department budget came out, the money wasn’t there.

Kiernan told councillors that the city provides funding for riverbank land it owns. Because the co-op has a long-term lease, it’s considered private property and the city won’t get involved.

The department’s budget presentation stated it has a proposed annual budget for 2019 of $115 million and a staff of 600 employees; just two of them are assigned to deal with riverbank erosion.

The city owns about 107 kilometres of the approximately 250 kilometres of riverbank in Winnipeg, said Kendall Thiessen, the department’s riverbank management engineer.

The seniors building was constructed to withstand any ground shifting due to erosion, adding there is no threat to the structure, Kiernan said.

The committee agreed to consider the $400,000 request for stabilization in the 2020 budget process.

Elmwood-East Kildonan Coun. Jason Schreyer said the co-op lease expires in 10 years and the city should be taking steps to protect the land that will become its responsibility once again.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

 

 

Planning, Property & Development Preliminary 2019 Operating and Capital Budgets