Fredericton city council voted Sunday to proceed with the expropriation of the New Brunswick Provincial Exhibition<\/strong>‘s leasehold interest in the Exhibition Grounds, seizing full control over the 12-hectare property just one day before a municipal election \u2014 and after the province’s expropriation officer cleared the way for the move.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The city owns the Exhibition Grounds but has long leased the land to Fredericton Exhibition Limited<\/strong>, the organization behind the New Brunswick Provincial Exhibition. The current lease runs until 2031.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The exhibition has been contesting the city’s expropriation of its leasehold interest since September. The province’s expropriation officer, Edmundston lawyer Fran\u00e7ois Carrier<\/strong>, issued his decision approving the process at 4:15 p.m. on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Only six of the city’s 11 councillors attended Sunday’s special meeting. Of those present, four \u2014 Jocelyn Pike, Greg Ericson, Cassandra LeBlanc<\/strong> and Kevin Darrah<\/strong> \u2014 voted in favour of the five resolutions needed to complete the expropriation. Councillors Mark Peters, Margo Sheppard, Eric Megarity, Steven Hicks and Bruce Grandy were absent.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Mayor Kate Rogers<\/strong>, who is not seeking re-election in Monday’s vote, said she called the special meeting on short notice because council had previously instructed her to do so if Carrier’s decision arrived before the election.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Councillor Greg Ericson<\/strong> said he asked city staff whether Sunday’s vote would bind the incoming council. The answer was no.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “The new council will have the full right and authority and power to give the N.B. Exhibition their lands or to continue on with this process or anything in the middle of that,” Ericson said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Mayor Rogers echoed that view, telling reporters the new council “will have the authority to work with the N.B. Ex to determine what their future is on the land.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n As part of Sunday’s resolutions, council voted to offer the New Brunswick Provincial Exhibition $4.1 million<\/strong> in compensation for the loss of its leasehold interest. Under the expropriation process, that figure can be challenged by the exhibition.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Rae Tretiak<\/strong>, the exhibition’s executive director, said he was not surprised by Sunday’s decisions but signalled a willingness to negotiate. “We want to reach a negotiation sooner than later. We do not want to delay anything. We want to get the job done and we want to move on so that everybody can put this one to bed,” said Tretiak, who has led the organization for about a year.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fredericton Council Votes to Expropriate Exhibition Grounds Days Before Municipal Election Fredericton city council voted Sunday to proceed with the expropriation of the New Brunswick Provincial Exhibition‘s leasehold interest in the Exhibition Grounds, seizing full control over the 12-hectare property just one day before a municipal election \u2014 and after the province’s expropriation officer cleared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,48],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1039","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-politics"},"yoast_head":"\nA Disputed Property<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
A Thinly Attended Special Meeting<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
New Council Not Bound by the Vote<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
$4.1 Million Compensation Offer<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n