Port Dalhousie group gets break on $5M coverage for railway shelter
Partial reimbursement for insurance costs offered for NS&T structure on city property
A $5-million insurance requirement for a tiny historic streetcar shelter had St. Catharines city councillors questioning the municipality’s policies on insurance this week.
Volunteer group Port Dalhousie Conservancy, which saved and restored the shelter used by Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway (NS&T Railway), was told it would need to pay premiums for $5-million coverage for the structure to be placed on city property.
“I have $2 million on my car, which I drive 35,000 kilometres a year, but this is a building that doesn’t move. So we think that $2 million worth of liability should be sufficient for us,” conservancy president Hank Beekhuis told council on Monday.
Plans are underway for the historic shelter owned by the group to be placed at the city’s Olde Lock One Commons on Lakeport Road for at least five years through a licence agreement with the city.
The insurance issue was raised by Port Dalhousie Coun. Bruce Williamson, who made a motion for the requirement to be lowered from $5 million to $2 million.
Council was told by its city solicitor that the insurance amount is for the worst-case scenario, using the example of someone who slips and falls and is paralyzed.
Sandor Csanyi said a multimillion-dollar lawsuit could ensue. Because the building is on city property, he said the city would be held liable to pay if the group doesn’t have proper coverage under the insurance policy.
But Port Dalhousie Coun. Carlos Garcia said the $5-million insurance is understandable for other groups with more potential liability, such as the kayak rental business at Sunset Beach.
“This (shelter) is tiny. It would be difficult for anybody to even fall in there because they can just barely stand in there,” Garcia said.
“It’s such a small place. There are no moving parts. It’s not going anywhere.” St. Andrew’s Coun. Matt Harris asked if it wouldn’t make more sense for the city to own the structure and put it under city insurance.
He was told the group wanted to donate the structure to the city, but the city didn’t want to take on the responsibility of a new historic asset.
Beekhuis said insurance for the group is expected to cost between $1,100 and $1,400 a year. Lowering the required amount from $5 million to $2 million would save the volunteer group about $250 to $300 in premiums annually.
Beekhuis said it all adds up. It’s already been a costly affair, with the community group covering the estimated $10,000 to $12,000 cost for the restoration.
“Restoration, placement and proposed operation of the streetcar shelter is a 100 per cent volunteer operation, with over 40 individuals who have worked together to make this happen,” he said.
“There is no private gain in this, nor is there any other benefit to anyone except the community and the city.”
Deputy chief administrative officer Erin O’Hoski suggested council could offer a stipend so the adequate insurance for the city is intact, while acknowledging the financial hardship on the volunteer group.
Williamson then made an amendment, passed unanimously, to reimburse the group the difference in premiums it will have to pay on $5 million versus $2 million.
Council also agreed to fund a legal agreement fee of $570 and the $2 nominal annual rent.
The NS&T was one of the first electrified street railways in North America and operated across the region until the 1950s. The Port Dalhousie line between St. Catharines and Port Dalhousie was the first to open in 1901.
The conservancy discovered the historic shelter by accident on private property in 2017. It’s believed to be the only building left in the city that’s connected to NS&T Railway.