It’s about time. That essentially sums up the province’s decision to hand over $14.3 million promised to the city for the first two stages of Ray Gibbon Drive. Mayor Nolan Crouse and council should feel some satisfaction that years of tough negotiation have come to a measure of fruition, however it’s time to keep the foot on the gas.
It has been, pardon the pun, a long road since then-Transportation Minister Ed Stelmach made the first overture to funding part of Ray Gibbon Drive several years ago. That commitment became more serious during Stelmach’s campaign for the Progressive Conservative leadership, and even more still a month before the 2007 election when a ‘handshake’ deal was reached with outgoing mayor Paul Chalifoux.
Though that agreement was criticized at the time for being vague and unofficial, it nevertheless was a turning point that directly led to Tuesday’s payday. The $14.3 million, the first instalment of a $45-million payout, compensates the city for costs incurred to ensure the first two stages can become a provincial freeway.
While Chalifoux deserves credit for getting the ball rolling, much of the heavy lifting was done during Crouse’s term as mayor. The payment is a credit to the mayor’s leadership style of being firm when needed but not necessarily at the expense of diplomacy. During his first days in office and just before a provincial election, Crouse made it clear a funding deal was in the best interests of local MLA Doug Horner and the Tories. “I’m sure Mr. Horner doesn’t want this to become an election issue for St. Albert,” he said. It was tough talk, but lacked the bombast of lobbying efforts we’ve seen from the mayor’s of Alberta’s two largest cities. With firmness came recognition that determination and co-operation were needed to turn a handshake into dollar signs.
The money might have come sooner if not for the economic downturn that sent the province’s finances into deficit to the tune of $4.7 billion this year. Given this fiscal picture, the $14-million payout is a surprising development, one surely aided from having a deputy premier — Horner — working behind the scenes to loosen the Treasury Board purse strings.
But despite recent obstacles, Crouse and several incumbents seeking re-election can only call the $14 million a partial victory. There’s another $31 million at stake for stage three to extend Ray Gibbon Drive to Villeneuve Road and so far the province has given no indication about when a cheque will arrive. That leaves council to decide whether to leave the project on the shelf for a few more years or risk borrowing and hope a payout isn’t too far around the corner. Voters deserve to know what happens next and how long St. Albert has to wait. The mayor was right: Ray Gibbon Drive will be an election issue, but this time the shoe is on the other foot
