Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 30, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba IBM Q PAGE B1 m 18 MONTH RRSP 2.35 %* Deadline is March 2nd, 2020 Start your Journey Map your savings today. *Rates are calculated on a per annum basis and are subject to change. Rate applies to RRSP, RRIF, TFSA && GIC. All deposits 100% guaranteed by the Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba jLCambnan ^ ^ CREDIT UNION Winnipeg free Press CITY • BUSINESS B1 THURSDAY JANUARY 30, 2020 CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204-697-7292 • CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA • WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ► CONNECT WITH WINNIPEG'S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE SECTION B Coalition gathers at Kinsmen Sherbrook Pool to back 'life-sustaining'services Group warns city to avoid cuts BEN WALDMAN CHARLES Shabaquay walked into the Kinsmen Sherbrook Pool on Wednesday morning, just as he’s done for most of his adult life. He goes there to use the computers, to read books on the community shelf, check postings on the bulletin board, and, of course, swim. Some people use the city-run building to stay warm in the winter. Shabaquay is often at the pool twice a day; it’s near his home, and free. But the nearly 90-year-old facility — which reopened in 2017 after five years and more than $4 million in repairs — is one of dozens of public services facing closure under the City of Winnipeg’s proposed 2020-23 budget, expected to be delivered by Mayor Brian Bowman in early March. Dozens of activists and community members gathered Wednesday in front of the Kinsmen Sherbrook Pool for the launch of Budget For All Winnipeg, a coalition dedicated to preventing cuts to what it calls “life-sustaining” services around the city. Proposed cuts made during the budget process include shuttering the Windsor Park and Happy-land outdoor pools in 2021, followed by the Sherbrook and Transcona indoor pools in 2022. Other potential closures include the Westwood and West Kildonan libraries this year, and the Fort Garry branch two years down the road. The shutdown of several arenas, including Terry Sawchuk, is also on the table. To members of the group, the Kinsmen Sher-brook Pool was a prime example of a life-sustaining service. “We call on our elected officials to do more and find creative ways to limit or avoid all of the currently proposed cuts,” said Barret Miller, chairman of the Friends of Sherbrook Pool community group. “The impacts (of these cuts) will be real.” While Shabaquay and others convened in the lobby, speakers from several community organizations took turns explaining why they felt cuts to such services would hurt the city. Carlos Sosa, a local advocate for people living with disabilities, said he does support work for a client with a disability, and the two of them go to the Sherbrook pool about four times per month. If the pool closed, his client would be excluded from an essential part of his life, he said. “His options to be part of the community are already limited. Inclusion is what’s at risk here,” Sosa said. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Friends of Sherbrook Pool chairman Barret Miller speaks outside the West End pool Wednesday. 'The impacts (of these cuts) will be real,' he told the anti-cutbacks group. Molly McCracken, director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, pointed to her organization’s alternative municipal budget, developed two years ago, as a way to prevent cuts to essential services while boosting city revenue. “We need to increase revenues, not cut services,” she said. Suggestions include an increase of property taxes — a move the centre calculated would earn $28.5 million in additional revenue — along with a variety of alternative revenue generators, such as a commuter charge and an increased tax on va- cant sites or surface parking lots. Buck Doyle, of the grassroots organization Winnipeg Police Cause Harm, said the police budget, which represents nearly one-third of the city’s annual spending, would make a better target for cuts than libraries, pools or arenas. Representatives from the Canadian Federation of Students, Functional Transit Winnipeg, and Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition voiced similar concerns. Asked whether he truly thought the Sherbrook Pool would be on the chopping block despite the recent investment made to repair it, Miller said he had no reason to believe otherwise. “I believe it enough that I am going to fight with all that I have and all the resources that I can bring to bear to make sure this facility, and all facilities that currently offer aquatic programming and other vital life-giving programming to Winni-peggers, do stay accessible,” he said. The coalition is also planning a “pool party” protest today at city hall. ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca Planning department urges sale of St. Vital city hall land DANIELLE DA SILVA OLD St. Vital city hall could soon come to market, as the city continues to offload bygone municipal properties. Winnipeg’s planning, property and development department has recommended the riverfront plot of land at 604 St. Mary’s Rd. be declared surplus and sold through a request for proposal process. According to a report coming Monday to the property and development, heritage and downtown committee, the former municipal office building needs extensive upgrades and system replacements, and would be cost prohibitive for the city to keep in its portfolio. Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) said Winnipeg doesn’t have the funds available to bring the building into compliance with codes, or make it a viable rental space for a third party. “We have estimates that it’s a million bucks to fix up the foundation. So knowing all that, I’m prepared to go forward with declaring it surplus, and, hopefully, we can get something that goes in that has some benefit for the community and isn’t just selling it to the highest private bidder,” Mayes said Wednesday. The former St. Vital municipal hall was built in 1952, prior to the incorporation of St. Vital as a city. It’s located next door to the historic St. Vital Fire Hall, home to the community’s historic- al society and museum, and has sat vacant since September 2017. It previously served as an office space for Sunova Financial, Duffy Insurance, and the St. Vital Business Improvement Zone. Only a portion of the approximately two acres of city-owned property — valued at $2.28 million — is being considered as surplus, according to the report. In total, roughly 28,000 square feet of property, the existing building and parking lot, could be headed to market. Late last year, the city also put the former St. Boniface city hall and fire hall on the market. The historic building was declared as surplus in 2007, but continued to be leased by the city to three non-profit groups that pay an annual rent of $1. Buyers interested in the St. Boniface properties have until mid-November to submit their proposal. The deadline was moved after city councillors heard from community groups that needed more time to prepare a submission. Mayes said he’s hoping the same courtesy will be offered to groups in St. Vital. He’s asked the property committee — which he chairs — to extend the bidding window for old St. Vital city hall to nine months. “We are going forward with St. Boniface... we’re looking at social factors in the weighting of what’s proposed,” Mayes said. “I’m trying to get equal treatment for St. Vital, so it isn’t just, you know, let’s sell St. Vital to the highest bidder and St. Boniface will give great weight to community interest.” The City of Winnipeg has been known to prioritize proposals that offer a community service over purchase price, Mayes said, citing the purchase of the former River Heights fire hall by the Rady Jewish Community Centre in 2014. “We’ll keep the process moving forward,” he said. “I don’t want it to sit there vacant for another several years, but I’m just trying to get some community interest as part of the calculation.” danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca * FREE HONISSIDN RED RIVER EHHIBITION PARK WHEN you PURCHASE ' H NEW RV * JRNURRU 30TH, 2020 & & & * & & & JRNURRÜ & & & 3IST, & & & 2020 RV9 WARS* * free parking m m \ - //>X V' j v :¿í \ v jn 131 you RE ENTERED TO MIN R NEW QURD 3*177 PORTRGE RVENUE * FEDRURRO 1ST, 2020 & & & * & & & FEDRURRÜ & & & 2ND, & & & 2020 B_01_Jan-30-20_FP_01.indd B1 2020-01-29 10:38 PM I ;