City refuses to fix bridge that families need to access their homes

The City of Moose Jaw is refusing to fix a bridge that would allow two families to access their properties near the former Valley View Centre complex.

The municipality barricaded and closed the Seventh Avenue Southwest Bridge in Wakamow Valley in 2015, after a flood and ice flow damaged three of the wooden piles holding up the bridge. This was the second time a flood had damaged the structure after ice flows ruined 10 wooden support piles in 1998. In response to that event, the municipality replaced the 10 piles with steel piles.

While barricading the bridge was supposed to be a temporary measure, the municipality has made little effort since then to fix the structure, according to legal documents submitted to the Express. This has affected the ability of the Thorn and Avery families to access their properties that sit adjacent to Valley View Centre (VVC).

Jim Thorn developed his property in 1979, while Tim Avery developed his property in 1998. The municipality permitted both developments based upon legal and physical access via the Seventh Avenue Southwest Bridge.

With the bridge closed for the past five years, the families have had to access their properties through the VVC property. The problem is, the provincial government is preparing to sell that property and close all access in July, thus preventing the two families from reaching their properties from any direction. Since the City of Moose Jaw has refused to fix the bridge — there has been no funding for it during the past five years and council has not allocated funding for it during the next five years — the legal counsel for the two families has given the Express comprehensive documentation of this situation.

This includes communications between the families’ legal counsel and city administration, and city administration’s refusal to let the families speak during an open council meeting.

The Express intends to run a multi-part

The City of Moose Jaw closed the Seventh Avenue Southwest Bridge in 2015 after floods damaged the structure. Two families who used this bridge to access their properties have been forced to go through the Valley View Centre property since then. However, the provincial government will soon cut off their access to the centre property, so the families have approached city hall about fixing the bridge; the municipality is refusing to do so. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

series looking at this issue and how the City of Moose Jaw has reneged on its responsibility to support these property owners.

The urgency to find a solution to fix the bridge and access issues began last year when, on March 21, 2019, the provincial government notified the Thorn and Avery families that their access to their properties through Valley View Centre would cease on March 31, 2020. This prompted Jim Thorn and Tim Avery to contact city hall in April 2019, seeking confirmation about when the municipality would reopen the Seventh Avenue Southwest Bridge.

However, city hall was not responsive to the residents’ concerns, their legal counsel said, so in January 2020, they sought a lawyer to support them. Acquiring a lawyer helped the two families secure a meeting in January with Mayor Fraser Tolmie, city manager Jim Puffalt and city clerk/solicitor Myron Gulka-Tiechko. The three municipal officials “promised to study a report” about

the bridge and provide the families with an update at a meeting in mid-March.

Another issue that erupted in January was when the municipal water line to the Valley View Centre froze and ruptured, leaving the Thorns and Averys without municipal water. The municipality refused to repair the water line even though a 1952 agreement with the provincial government makes the city responsible for maintenance of the water line, the legal counsel said.

The rupture means there is now no water supply to the Kingsway Park and Valley View fire hydrants. The families — along with the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure complex on Highway 2 — have also been forced to haul water to their homes using the VVC private road. No support to replace the bridge

The municipality did not reply to the families by late March and had not supplied any information either. The families’ legal counsel demanded that city officials meet in April. In attendance at that meeting were Tolmie, Puffalt, Gulka-Tiechko, and new city engineer Bevan

Harlton.

“City administration says they will not recommend to council to repair or replace the Seventh Avenue bridge,” the legal counsel told the Express. “(They) claim that (the) cost is more than double what the city’s own engineering firm estimated for repairs and replacement.”

The municipal officials directed Thorn and Avery to meet with city council and ask it to reopen the bridge. In May, the residents applied to appear in front of council to plead their case. However, city council and city administration refused to put their case on the public agenda despite “steadfast objection” from the residents’ legal counsel. Instead, the municipality buried their presentation during the in-camera - behind closed doors — portion of executive committee’s May 25 meeting.

“There (was) nothing sensitive or private about the submissions my client provided to the City of Moose Jaw or what city administration provided to the elected officials in advance of our appearance,” the residents’ legal counsel said.

On May 26, Gulka-Tiechko advised the two residents that city council had directed city administration to prepare a report on the bridge. However, even when that report is ready and administration presents a recommendation, that report will be discussed during an executive committee meeting. This could lead to more delays in council taking action to fix the bridge.

These delays by city council and city administration could result in the provincial government denying Avery and Thorn access to the VVC property, and thus, their properties. It would also lead to them losing access to potable and household water.

“Access to one’s property is a fundamental entitlement,” the legal counsel added, “and must be guaranteed by a municipality.”