Charlottetown buying oil leak property for $340,000 with plans to turn to public use

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CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — After voting to spend $340,000, Charlottetown will quickly personal a constructing that it was ordered to buy after a city-owned group centre leaked oil onto the property.

In 2013, an underground oil tank on the Sherwood Recreation Centre leaked onto the yard of a house at 54 Maple Ave.

In March 2022, a provincial court docket sided with the proprietor of 54 Maple Ave. in a lawsuit that determined the town was chargeable for a spill that precipitated a lingering oil odor on the property and leached into the groundwater.

It awarded the proprietor, 77-year-old Gail Doucette, $533,000 in compensation plus curiosity. This Included ordering the town, together with its insurer, to pay $375,000 to purchase the house.

Charlottetown initially appealed this resolution however dropped it a number of months later.

Now, the town is planning to purchase the property outright from the insurer and switch it to public use, although it stays to be seen whether or not that may imply housing, workplace area or some form of leisure facility. The house is at the moment vacant.

Council voted unanimously to move the decision on the Nov. 14 common assembly, with a number of councillors talking in favour of the transfer.

Coun. Bob Doiron desires to see the recreation centre the place the spill occurred rebuilt in the identical vein as the town’s new Simmons Sports activities Centre.

He wish to see an ice floor added and possibly a pool, like Simmons is including, he stated.

“It’s a superb piece of the puzzle for revitalization of ward six space round Cody Banks rink. Give our group a pleasant wholesome group centre the place you’ll be able to go. And security — if there’s points come up on account of storms or hurricanes, this could be your assembly place.” – Coun. Bob Doiron

“It’s a superb piece of the puzzle for revitalization of ward six space round Cody Banks rink. Give our group a pleasant wholesome group centre the place you’ll be able to go. And security — if there’s points come up on account of storms or hurricanes, this could be your assembly place.”

Councillors Justin Muttart, Mitchell Tweel and Deputy Mayor Alanna Jankov agreed, with Muttart calling for 2 ice surfaces.

Tweel stated the acquisition provides “big dividends,” and Jankov stated it was a “nice alternative.”

“I feel this can be a good funding,” Tweel stated. “We’re positively going to wish this area. When you have a look at what we’ve performed with Simmons — they’ve a brand new pool.  I’d wish to emulate that.”

The problem got here up on the Nov. 8 finance committee assembly, the place councillors heard the town already owns the property collectively with its insurance coverage firm.

At that assembly, Mayor Philip Brown steered the home may once more be used for housing, given the continuing housing disaster.

Talking to SaltWire within the spring of 2022, Doucette stated she and her husband had smelled oil for almost twenty years, and she or he was unable to develop vegetation within the backyard.

Logan MacLean is a municipal reporter with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He may be reached by electronic mail at [email protected] and adopted on X @loganmaclean94.