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This article was published 15/12/2014 (2106 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s former property director authorized the contentious 2012 land swap with Shindico Realty six months before claiming to be "left out" of the proposed transaction.

Barry Thorgrimson, a 40-year municipal public servant, spent his last day as the city’s director of planning, property and development on Friday.

Barry Thorgrimson, former director of Planning, Property and Development for the City of Winnipeg.

On Monday, one business day following his departure, a letter of intent bearing his signature was brandished at a public hearing that may determine how much land the city expropriates from Shindico in the aftermath of the abandoned swap, which sparked a scandal at city hall.

In 2012, the city built its new fire-paramedic Station No. 12 on Taylor Avenue land owned by a numbered company controlled by Shindico’s president and CEO.

In Feb. 2 of that year, former fire-paramedic chief Reid Douglas agreed in a letter to acquire this land in exchange for three city properties: the old Station No. 12 on Grosvenor Avenue, the former Station No. 11 on Berry Street and a parcel of riverfront property on Mulvey Avenue East.

Thorgrimson signed the letter of intent on Feb. 7, 2012. But when the proposal came to light that summer, he claimed he was in the dark about the deal.

"This is a property matter that went through a different standing committee, with a different department. So I’m kind of left out of this whole process as well," he told CBC Manitoba in an Aug. 23, 2012, interview, referring to the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and council’s protection committee.

The proposed land swap was cancelled that fall by council, which ordered property officials to acquire the Station No. 12 site from Shindico. Subsequent negotiations between the two parties resulted in a stalemate.

On Monday, the city and Shindico began a two-day hearing in an RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg meeting room before inquiry officer Mike Green in an attempt to settle a dispute over precisely how much land is subject to expropriation.

The city’s planning, property and development department was represented at the hearing by real-estate manager John Zabudney, who could not answer some of the questions posed by expropriation-law specialist Antoine Hacault, counsel for Shindico Realty.

One question posed by Hacault involved why the condition "subject to council approval" was added to the land-swap letter of intent on Feb. 6, 2012, four days after the document was authored.

City of Winnipeg lawyer Denise Pambrun, who represented the city at the hearing, said even if Thorgrimson still served as director, he would not have appeared before the hearing because Zabudney was the correct official.

"Mr. Thorgrimson retired as is his entitlement to do so," said city spokesman Steve West in a statement, declining to entertain questions about whether the former director received a severance package. The city’s practice is to deny such requests on privacy grounds.

The presence of Thorgrimson’s signature on the land-swap letter of intent has been a matter of public record since October 2013, added West, noting this information is contained in an appendix of the external audit of the fire-paramedic station construction program.

That appendix also notes Zabudney wrote to Thorgrimson on March 29, 2012, advising his superior the land swap favoured Shindico by $1.03 million.

"I need some coaching Boss. How are we going to justify this land exchange," Zabudney asked in an email to Thorgrimson. "We did advise Reid (Douglas) early on not to include the Mulvey site and rather just include the other two fire halls and pay the balance in cash."

In response, Thorgrimson advised Zabudney to meet with former chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl.

Thorgrimson could not be reached for comment. Acting chief administrative officer Deepak Joshi was unavailable for comment, West said.

Mayor Brian Bowman, who’s been in office for seven weeks, declined to comment on the presence of Thorgrimson’s signature on a land-swap letter six months before the latter distanced himself from the proposal.

"Considering this information, included in the fire hall review to council, is in review with the RCMP, it would be inappropriate to speculate without access to the entire context of information you are requesting comment on," Bowman said in a statement relayed by spokeswoman Carmen Barnett.

The hearing at RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg continues today. It centres on Shindico’s contention the city must expropriate a 323-square-foot triangle of land along with a much larger parcel containing Station No. 12.

The city has no interest in this orphan triangle. "We don’t want to take on extra property that would cost money," Pambrun said.

The two parties are also in dispute over the persistence of a right-of-way that would allow access to Shindico land south of the station.

After the hearing wraps up, inquiry officer Green will present his findings to the city. Council will then decide whether to proceed with expropriation.

If both parties don’t agree on a price, the transaction will come before the Land Value Appraisal Commission, a provincial body that settles expropriation disputes.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca