City agrees to take feds’ Port Dalhousie Piers
St. Catharines has agreed to take ownership of the Port Dalhousie Piers once the federal government completes an estimated $30-million rehabilitation — work which could begin as early as this fall.
City council voted 9-1 Monday to advise the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that it’s willing to take the piers and related harbour assets once the feds have fixed them and a successful negotiation on a divestiture agreement is completed.
The city will also set up a Port Dalhousie pier reserve, putting aside $100,000 a year so it can maintain and rehabilitate the piers in the future.
“It’s good news,” said Port Dalhousie Coun. Bruce Williamson. “It’s going to be a great investment, to have people to be able to walk on the old piers and see the sunsets in a safe environment.”
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans advised St. Catharines it was in a position to start construction this fall if the city was willing to accept the divestiture of the piers and harbour assets.
Mayor Walter Sendzik said the transfer won’t take place until the work is complete. That’s expected to take two and a half to three years.
The federally-owned piers were built in the 1870s of wood and rocks and have long been a popular attraction for pedestrians. They were closed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in April 2015 after it was discovered that wood holding up the concrete decks had rotted away, leaving the decks unsupported.
At the time, the department made it known it no longer has any use for the piers but would be willing to fix them if someone else took them over afterwards.
The department presented the public with three long-term options for repair, with the most expensive costing $28 million to $33 million. That option, allowing pedestrians to walk on the deck and boats to moor like they did before the piers were closed, was chosen by the city.
The federal government included funding for the rehabilitation of the piers in its 2018 budget. The fix is supposed to give the piers a lifespan of 50 years.
The city’s new asset will have a $50-million replacement value.
“It’s been over three years that the piers have been closed. We still get a lot of calls about it,” said Port Dalhousie Coun. Carlos Garcia. “It’s just really, really good news for Port Dalhousie.”
Councillors and the mayor praised city staff and MP Chris Bittle who worked on getting the project to this point.
St. George’s Coun. Mike Britton was the lone vote against the divestiture, saying he was concerned the city was taking on the asset without a plan to pay for it in the future.
Britton said putting $100,000 annually in a reserve will only cover about 16 per cent of the cost of replacing the piers in 50 years. He said the city already has a $100-million infrastructure deficit.
“We’re requesting a download of a major asset — outside the Burgoyne Bridge probably one of the biggest assets in this region now — and we’re not putting a proper plan in place to fund it in the future.”
But Grantham Coun. Bill Phillips said there’s no way the city could put aside enough money to fully fund new piers in 50 years and $100,000 was adequate. He said when the city built Garden City arena, it didn’t put money aside to build a future replacement and the city debentured Meridian Centre.
“That’s what cities do,” Phillips said. “When they have to replace major infrastructure projects, they have to decide if they want them and if they want them they debenture them.”
Williamson said the city needs to be thankful the federal government is saving local taxpayers money.
“Along comes the fairy godmother, let’s call the fairy godmother Mother Canada, and she drops 30 million bucks on you to rebuild a much-loved, fantastic community amenity that everybody can enjoy. We say, ‘Thank you, Mother Canada,’” he said.
“Let’s not turn this into something that’s at all negative, this is a very positive story.”
The city’s takeover of the piers is on the condition that it continues to operate them as a public harbour at its current level of operation for five years. If the city for some reason ceases to operate the piers or disposes of them, it would be required to reimburse the federal government an amount equal to the appraised value of the transfer.
Garcia added an amendment to the motion to alleviate any community concerns that the city could turn around and sell the piers for development. Staff are being asked to negotiate a restrictive covenant to be included in the transfer of the lands that would ensure the piers will be continue to be for public use and enjoyment.