The Pulse: Feb. 9, 2022

Candas Jane Dorsey and Timothy Anderson are still waiting for a decision about whether they'll be compensated for what they estimate to be more than $15,000 in damage caused to their backyard after police responded to a break-in last November.

Meanwhile, the City of Edmonton recently denied a claim by Tzin Wine and Tapas on 104 Street after an arrest outside the restaurant last summer incurred nearly $3,000 in damages.

Property damage can happen in the course of police work. It can be tricky, however, to get compensated if your home or business is the site of police action that breaks things. We decided to take a closer look at what happens when police cause property damage, and what recourse you have if they do.

What happens if police damage your property?

"In the event of an EPS vehicle collision or incident involving damage to property, there is a form that has to be filled out and submitted to the City of Edmonton Insurance and Claims Management section," EPS spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout said regarding the process for police.

Those impacted are able to submit a claim to the city for compensation, though there is no guarantee that it will be paid. City spokesperson Lindsay Yarmon told Taproot: "The city encourages people to pursue a claim under their own insurance policy where possible."

The program that pays out claims and premiums has an annual budget of about $10 million.

How often does this happen?

Of the 1,200 injury and damage claims received by the City of Edmonton in 2021, 116 were related to police activity. Of those, 61 were related to motor-vehicle crashes, and 55 were related to property damage and minor injuries. On those 55 claims, a total of $31,000 was paid out in 2021.

Most injury and damage claims against the city are related to things like construction activities, slips and falls, potholes, tree roots, and such.

Of the total claims received in 2021, there were 19 requests to review the decisions, three of which were related to the Edmonton Police Service, Yarmon said.

• Last night, Premier Jason Kenney announced Alberta's three-step approach to lifting COVID-19 public health measures. The Restrictions Exemption Program has ended as of midnight on Feb. 8, masks will no longer be required for students as of Feb. 13, and the provincial mask mandate and mandatory work from home order will end on March 1. All remaining health restrictions would be lifted in step three, with a date to be determined based on hospitalization rates. "Now is the time to begin learning to live with COVID," Kenney said.
• Explore Edmonton and Edmonton Destination Marketing Hotels have signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize a partnership aimed at attracting events and marketing the city. EDMH will provide Explore Edmonton with "important marketing funds" as the tourism and hospitality sector looks to recover from the pandemic. "This is an important step forward in recovery," said Marcela Mandeville, Explore Edmonton's board chair. "There is a lot of work to do to help the visitor economy recover, and this commitment to partnership will position Edmonton strongly as we rebuild."
• Nearly 23% of Edmonton's hotels boast environmentally sustainable operations, according to an analysis of Booking.com data by Uswitch. Edmonton ranked in the top five for sustainable hotels in the global ranking, along with Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary.
• Mayor Amarjeet Sohi has launched a new blog and wrote about his first 100 days in office. "I am proud of my fellow council-members and grateful to all the Edmontonians whom I have had the pleasure of working with over the past three months," he wrote.
• Construction has begun on the Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre, following council's approval of the $153 million budget last year. The facility, which will connect to the Peter Hemingway Fitness and Leisure Centre, is expected to be complete in 2026. "This building type will be unique in the world – a public place where you can participate in a triathlon on a -30° winter day next to casual users of the fitness and play spaces," said Dub Architects principal Michael Dub. "The juxtaposition of recreational activities will be electrifying."
• A new volunteer-led anti-racism group called Stop Race Based Hate has launched a website to educate allies on how to address racism. "When speaking out about racism, we kept hearing about the challenges people had in finding the right words to articulate why something is racist," said co-founder Linda Hoang. "The ability to put words to why something is wrong is powerful and the idea for this tool was fuelled by our desire to help people become more confident in their words and reasoning to speak out."
• A 63-year-old woman who was struck by the driver of a truck near 149 Street at 124 Avenue as she crossed the street in January has died of her injuries. Edmonton police have charged the driver, a 64-year-old man, with failing to yield to a pedestrian.
• Former Edmonton Oilers executive Jeff Harrop has been named president of FC Edmonton. "There's a lot of work to do, there's no doubt about that. We need to build a brand here. But if we do that successfully, I've no doubt we're going to flourish as a franchise," Harrop said. Edmonton finished seventh in the eight-team Canadian Premier League last year.
• Winter domes are now available in Rundle Park, Victoria Park, and Hawrelak Park. The domes are part of the WinterCity Initiative, and are intended to provide seating and shelter for park visitors.

On this day in 1949, the wheels were in motion for $170,000 worth of renovations to Edmonton's longest-standing arena, including more seating, new restrooms, and a concession stand.

By the time it closed, the Edmonton Arena had served as the city's main arena for more than 60 years — an impressive run for a building that wasn't even designed for that purpose. It was intended to be a livestock pavilion and was thus built in 1913 at the fairgrounds near what was then the edge of the city. Unfortunately, downtown's Thistle Rink burnt down, and Edmonton was left without a place to host hockey games and other large events. A skating surface was improvised for the pavilion, and it soon began its double life as an arena in the winter and a livestock hall when the weather became too warm for ice. The structure was built and maintained by a private organization called the Edmonton Exhibition Association, which later became Edmonton Northlands.

Given its split personality and the shape of the building, the Edmonton Arena was nicknamed The Cow Barn. There were calls to replace the uncomfortable building with poor sightlines, but plans for a new downtown arena wouldn't come to fruition for a long time. In the late '40s, Northlands decided the newly renovated Edmonton Arena needed a new name, choosing the Edmonton Gardens. The expansion upped the seating capacity to around 8,000 people, making the Edmonton Gardens the largest arena west of Toronto.

By the 1960s, the aging Gardens were becoming both an eyesore and a safety hazard. Water would often drip onto the ice, creating troublesome mounds for skaters. A second renovation happened in 1963, but it didn't make the Cow Barn much safer. The Edmonton Journal called it a "disaster waiting to happen", and soon after, the city's fire chief condemned the Gardens. Another round of renovations addressed many of the issues, allowing the Gardens to reopen at a reduced capacity of 5,200 seats.

Throughout its life, the Gardens were home to the Edmonton Oilers, the Oil Kings, the Flyers, and countless agricultural shows, concerts, and other events. In 1974, both the Oilers and the Oil Kings moved across the street to the new Northlands Coliseum. As a result, the Edmonton Gardens retired after more than a half-century.

The building itself was demolished in 1982, but it didn't go down easily. The first attempt with dynamite and a bulldozer failed. A second attempt to blow it up with hundreds of sticks of dynamite also didn't have much impact. It was finally a wrecking ball that brought down the building.

The land the Edmonton Gardens once sat on is now home to part of the Edmonton Expo Centre, another building that used to be run by Northlands, which ceased operations a few years after the construction of Rogers Place downtown ended the Coliseum's run. The Coliseum is likely destined for a date with a wrecking ball itself. And the city is exploring options for the buildings around it, such as turning the old Coliseum Inn into hundreds of units of supportive housing.

This is based on a clipping found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse — follow @VintageEdmonton for daily ephemera via Twitter.