Fed up with city council, business owner withdraws offer to donate amber lights for Winnipeg school zones

Chuck Lewis says he's had enough with bureaucracy and politics at Winnipeg's city hall, and is pulling an offer to install amber flashing lights in Winnipeg school zones.

"It's been going on long and the cost goes up every year … so at some point, you have to just take a step back," Lewis said Thursday.

The owner of Expert Electric initially made an offer more than five years ago to donate two solar-powered flashing lights in each city school zone.

The city launched a process to examine the proposal and accepted the gift in 2019, but there were many details to sort out in a formal agreement.

A draft agreement would have seen Lewis install 480 units, at a minimum rate of two units per month.

The city eventually determined some school zones needed more than two units, and said it would need to install 391 additional lights, at an estimated cost of nearly $1.4 million. There was no approved budget for the additional lights.

Lewis says he signed an agreement with the city this spring on the donation, but was later told the employee with whom he'd signed the document had left their job, and it needed to be redone. 

He finally threw in the towel on Thursday, when he heard decisions on the donation had been referred to another committee.

"I thought this fall we were rolling this out," he said.

The matter was the subject of much back-and-forth between councillors on the city's property, planning and development committee and members of the city's public service at the committee's Thursday meeting.

Among other issues, concerns were raised about which zones might be equipped first, whether priority would be given to those that had higher instances of speeding tickets, how the city would budget for its costs, and whether the property and planning committee was even the appropriate place to discuss traffic and public works issues.

"I would hate to see us lose a willing partner in this," said chair Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) before the councillors voted.

That's what happened in the end — after the committee voted three to one in favour of sending the matter to the city's executive policy committee, Lewis withdrew his offer.

Waverely West Coun. Janice Lukes was the lone dissenter in the vote. 

"It's been here for two years and I think we really need to make a decision on this," she said.

Lewis, for his part, was fed up with the process.

"This whole thing is about children's safety and not money. And why wouldn't you start rolling out the lights? The only reason they're not, it's about the money," Lewis told CBC News.

The electrical contractor rejected the idea he should stick out the process at city hall, saying his own personal costs had risen beyond what he'd expected. After several years of trying, he says he saw no end to the delays in getting the project completed. 

"You're constantly fighting or trying to wrap your mind around what you can do next to try to get it passed."

Politicians express regret at loss of donation 

Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood), who had championed Lewis's cause, expressed dismay the donation had been rescinded.

"I'm going to work with Mr. Lewis and others to bring it back in a different fashion and try to find another way," Klein said. "It is really disappointing to see this become political."

In a statement, Gilroy said the loss of the offer was "unfortunate."

Mayor Brian Bowman also expressed regret through a spokesperson.

"The mayor has been supportive of accepting the donation and will discuss this matter with his council colleagues, and have more to say after Monday's [executive policy committee] meeting," the statement said.

Lewis says he may consider starting the process again, but not until there is a change of government at city hall.