From the Portage Daily Graphic

Rob Swystun, Central Plains Herald-Leader
A group of municipal ratepayers has recorded a victory in the civil court case they brought against the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice John Scurfield said the Rural Municipality of Portage did not present an adequate plan to go ahead with borrowing its share of the Portage Credit Union Centre’s funding — $8 million — when it passed its local improvement plan and borrowing bylaw for the facility.

The RM’s plan contained information that was more akin to speculation than hard numbers, the decision said, which does not hold up to specific obligations set out in the Manitoba Municipalities Act to protect taxpayers from unwise municipal spending.

“The RM did not act in bad faith,” Scurfield wrote in his decision, handed down Dec. 9. “It simply acted prematurely. The right to estimate does not include the right to guess or speculate. An estimate must have its roots in a reasonably developed plan. There was no urgent reason to proceed with the local improvement plan prior to developing the proposal to a stage where it could provide a reasonable level of reliable information to its taxpayers.”

According to the decision, as reported first on thedailygraphic.com, the RM’s borrowing bylaw was given second and third readings by the RM council on Oct. 9, 2007, but it was not until May 15, 2008, that the design details of the multiplex and its estimated cost were revealed. That cost estimate was $41 million, as opposed to the original $32-million estimate. The scope of the facility was then scaled back to a more manageable $35.7 million by taking out some components like a second sheet of ice.

The judge’s decision had municipal officials remaining mum Wednesday on the subject for the moment until meetings and consultations could be set up to discuss what implications the decision will have on the now-estimated $35.7-million project, currently under construction at the Island Park fairgrounds.

“We haven’t had a chance to talk to our lawyer, and at this time we have no comment,” RM of Portage Reeve Toby Trimble said Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Trimble said the RM’s decision on whether to appeal would also wait until officials had a chance to meet with their lawyer.

Officials with the City of Portage also played it safe.

Deputy mayor Dave Quinn said the court decision would be on the next city council meeting agenda to discuss. In the meantime, he aimed to meet with city manager Dale Lyle and other officials to see what implications it may have.

Kameron Blight, a member of the group of ratepayers, which also includes Blight Native Seeds Ltd., Leslie Farms Ltd., Verwey Farms Ltd., Wesley Packham, Schirp Farms, Orval Troop, Kevin Mason, Abe Peters, Kevin Yuill and a numbered company, said their lawyer, Mona Brown, would comment on their behalf.

“The RM has no authority whatsoever to proceed with anything,” Brown, a lawyer with Smith Neufeld Jodoin LLP’s Carman office, stated.

As for the multiplex’s project manager, Guenter Schaub of Tower Engineering said he did not know how the decision might affect the project and did not even know of Scurfield’s decision until The Daily Graphic called him to inquire about it.

The Herald-Leader and thedailygraphic.com will have more on this story as it develops.