THUNDER BAY – The City’s recent sale of Municipal Golf Course has some citizens asking questions and inaccurate rumours are spreading through social media. To set the record straight, the City would like to share some of the facts of this sale:
• Following its decision to close Municipal Golf Course, City Council dealt with the sale of the property at six different meetings – three in open session and three in closed session.
• On Oct. 28, 2013, the Property was declared surplus (Report 2013CLS.045 Realty Services) and Council directed Realty Services to market the property through a Request for Proposal process.
• On Nov. 22 and 29, 2013, the surplus declaration was advertised in The Chronicle-Journal, and a sign was also posted on the property.
• On Dec. 7 and 14, 2013, the City advertised a Request for Expressions of Interest in both The Chronicle-Journal and The Winnipeg Free Press.
• On July 21, 2014, Council considered Report 2014.054 that presented the four Expressions of Interest received, the evaluation criteria and the scoring of each one, the appraised market value, and recommended that the City agree to sell to Bruno’s Contracting for the appraised market value. This decision was passed by the Committee of the Whole and ratified by Council through the minutes on July 28, 2014.
• On Aug. 11, 2014, the public was advised of the details of the sale by a City-issued Media Release.
The sale of Municipal Golf Course followed a competitive and publicly advertised process. Anyone could have submitted a proposal through this public process. Allegations that the City owed the successful purchaser money and that somehow influenced the sale process, or that the City received offers more than double the appraised value, are ludicrous. The property was sold for the appraised value and followed a public, transparent process according to the City’s policies. Not a single misstep was taken with respect to the sale of this land.
Mark Smith
General Manager of Development & Emergency Service
