| Page 12 acquired the land between St. Anne�s Rd. and the Seine River in 1989 for this anticipated future need. SOS opposes this location because it will require the destruction of approximately 2 acres of the Bois des Esprits tree stand (lying within the Category Two lands). It should be noted that some of this Category �2� tree stand was bulldozed by the developer in the early Spring of 2002. Also, however, the City�s Environmental Coordinator advises that environmentalists have identified ecological studies that indicate that a bridge would negatively impact the ecological health of the river corridor, including wildlife and plant species. The degree of impact is in question based on the bridge design and location. They are of the view that a bridge at this location interrupts the �connectivity� of the park land along the Seine River. In order to provide a �second opinion� on the matter, this issue could benefit from an independent assessment of the long term environmental and traffic impacts and the access requirements to Royalwood Phase II by a local engineering consulting firm(s) with experience in transportation planning and environmental impact. The consultant�s report would speak to matters of: traffic impact, environmental impact of Seine River crossing options, neighbourhood traffic impacts and sustainability, and consistency with Plan Winnipeg. The estimated budget requirement for this assignment is $50,000 and would require an additional budget appropriation. The assessment would be undertaken under the direction of the Planning, Property and Development Department with input from other Departments as required. S.O.S. would be invited to participate as part of the �study team�. C. Potential Sources of Funding/Compensation: Beginning with the premise that the price payable by the City for the balance of the �Category One� lands (24.5 acres) will be $65,000 per acre, i.e. $1.6M total (plus financing and real estate transaction closing costs), $366,000 can be in the form of waiving the subdivision administration fees. This would leave $1.234M, of which Ladco�s share (62%) would be $765,000. The General Unspecified Purposes Account could potentially fund $325,000 of that amount. As to the subdivision administration fees, the developer argues that it would not be equitable to pay these fees on the additional land that the City may purchase; additionally, because these fees are often paid in installments, it is the present value of these fees that should form part of the purchase price. There also appears to be approximately $400,000 in uncommitted funds in the Riel Community�s Land Dedication Reserve Account. The share of the Province of Manitoba (38%) would be $469,000. There is no available funding source to which the City�s financial contribution can be charged. Accordingly, the Administration has consulted with Ladco and the Province and has identified the following alternatives to finance and facilitate this land acquisition project: A) Cash Payment |