Certain residents who live in Waterways now have some definite answers, 21 property owners in the neighbourhood will not be able to rebuild.
Between November 2016 and January 2017 Thurber Engineering monitored the slope stability in Waterways and their report identified different areas that would face different factors, considerations, risks and issues when it came to rebuilding.
On May 23, 2017 council unanimously voted to buyout 21 lots in certain areas of Waterways that were unsafe to redevelop because of the unstable slope. The properties will be acquired at pre-fire value by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB).
This includes:
- 15 properties within Zone 3A
- Five properties within Zone three
- One private property in Zone four
The total cost to the municipality is expected to be below $6.5-million, that includes the buyout of the land, the geotechnical assessment, the demolition and regrading and maintenance throughout the years.
The Wood Buffalo Recovery Committee (WBRC) and Recovery Task Force (RTF) have been in contact with the Government of Alberta (GOA) to determine if the the Disaster Recovery Program (DRP) would cover these costs, as rebuilding would not be happening in these specific areas if the wildfire had not occurred.
Based on Thurber Engineering’s report, not rebuilding in zone 3A and the higher area of zone three would decrease the overall risk to zones one (blue area) and the lower portion of zone three (yellow area).
Some residents living in the lower section of zone three also want the option to have their property bought out.
At the WBRC meeting on May 17, 2017 committee member Marty Giles said he hoped to see that option offered to these additional 14 properties.
This would add about $3.5 million on top of the $6.5 million.
Monica Thompson, lives on Cliff Avenue and is one of the 14 properties not included in this recommendation, she told council that these properties are rendered worthless.
“I am very happy for my neighbours who can now move forward and get some closure and get on with their plans. For the 14 property owners who are excluded from this particular motion again it is difficult, because it is pending still,” said Thompson.
“We would really appreciate sooner rather than later.”
A report into acquiring the additional 14 lots is expected to be presented at a WBRC meeting on Wednesday, June 7, 2017.
