Let the cooling waters flow

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/06/2018 (2841 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A flood of emails and letters from residents in Bridgwater Lakes calling on the City of Winnipeg and Manitoba Housing to put their differences aside and turn on the community fountain has paid off.

The fountain at Water Bend Plaza, which doubles as a splash pad for the neighbourhood, will be put back into operation on June 22.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” Tracy Arias, a mom and Bridgwater Lakes resident, said. “That was our summer plan, to play in the fountain. That’s how we spend our summers in Winnipeg.

“I want to thank everyone for stepping up to the plate and turning it on for the kids this summer. I’m just so grateful,” she said.

For the past five years, the fountain has been operated by Manitoba Housing, the developer of the community, and would typically flow with water from May to October. But this year, the fountain has been dry with the exception of a family fun day on June 9.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Housing said the corporation’s responsibility to operate the fountain ended in fall 2017 and was to be transferred to the City of Winnipeg, as per a development agreement, and as such they did not turn the fountain on this spring. At the time, the City told Manitoba Housing they were not prepared to operate the fountain, the spokesperson added.

According to David Driedger, manager of corporate communications with the City of Winnipeg, the City was addressing “areas of concern” related to the fountain with Manitoba Housing and discussions were ongoing.

With temperatures soaring and school about to let out for the summer, Arias was among dozens of community members reaching out to Mayor Brian Bowman and the City to express their disappointment with the decommissioned fountain.

“I get very frustrated when children get sucked into adult problems,” Arias said.

The fountain is a meeting spot for families and community members, Arias said, and while it was off, the neighbourhood had lost a vital part of its spirit.

“This community is so diverse culturally, that it has absolutely expanded my son’s horizons. This fountain brings the world to him,” Arias said.

“It is so nice when children play together all summer, because they’re picking up each other’s languages. The City and developer can say it’s going to cost this or that, but put the fountain on and watch the people interact, and then turn it off and you’ll see what the real cost is.”

On June 21, Bowman made a brief statement on Facebook and Twitter stating that the City made an agreement with Manitoba Housing to once again operate the splash pad.

Details about the arrangement, including hours of operation, responsibility for operation of the fountain, the length of the agreement, and a potential handoff date, were not immediately available. Manitoba Housing was unable to comment on the agreement due to the provincial byelection in St. Boniface.

City councillor Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) said there’s more work to be done to and prevent conflicts over amenity handoffs from arising in the future.

“The City of Winnipeg, who collects the taxes, has to dramatically improve their process and record keeping on developer handoffs to the City,” Lukes said. “A warranty is a warranty and do your due diligence when it comes off warranty. Don’t wait six months to do your due diligence.

“The City can’t let things drag on,” she said.

Fountains have been a recurring problem for the Bridgwater development. In spring 2016, the City of Winnipeg budgeted $100,000 to repair the fountain in Bridgwater Forest after it was turned off due to mechanical issues for two years.

Manitoba Housing also contributed funds for repairs although the fountain had already been transferred to the City. Work at that time included excavating the area, replacing the water tank and installing weeping tile to improve drainage. Currently, the fountain in Bridgwater Forest is not in operation.

Subsequently, enhanced warranties for the fountains in Bridgwater Lakes and Bridgwater Trails were negotiated between Manitoba Housing and the City of Winnipeg, Lukes said. The fountain in Bridgwater Trails is scheduled to be transferred to the City in 2020.

Still at issue is a soccer pitch in Bridgwater Lakes, opposite the fountain, which is scheduled to be torn up and resodded before it can be transferred to the City. The project is estimated to cost about $400,000, begin this summer and take two years to complete.

According to Manitoba Housing, the field doesn’t meet the City’s specifications for weeds.

Lukes said the City would benefit from taking a second look at the context of the agreement for the field and suggested any newly laid sod would be plagued by weeds blown over from a neighbouring field, not maintained by the City.

“There’s only one taxpayer,” Lukes said. “Sometimes in these agreements things change. We have to use logic and negotiating skills to come to some sort of solution.”