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Whether he likes it or not, Steve Tetu accepts that he has to move his business to make way for Evergreen Line construction.
However, the terms around that move don’t sit well with the Port Moody-based business owner.
“No amount of pleading or bleeding hearts is going to make them reroute the train a block away so I can stay. One person is not going to make them add another $2 million on to a line. So I just said, ‘OK, let’s get the compensation going and get it done.’ But that hasn’t happened,” he said.
Tetu’s automotive shop, EBI Cruiser Parts, is located on Moray Street, which is within the design envelope of the Evergreen Line. Because of that, he’s been asked to pack up and relocate by the provincial government, though no timeline has been given for the move.
The Coquitlam resident’s primary frustration stems from the lack of communication he’s had with the province, and the government’s offer to compensate him with what he estimates to be less than a quarter of what it will cost to uproot his business from its Port Moody location to a warehouse complex in east Port Coquitlam.
He says he first received notice from the province in April of last year that he would have to move, but received nothing in writing until Sept. 30, 2010. At that time, the letter suggested he would be compensated for “mutually agreed relocation costs, business costs, legal and other costs appropriate in the circumstance.”
“That is the actual only legal document that I have. Everything is verbal, or a very vague e-mail. I’ve been trying to ask questions and have them send me information back,” said Tetu, who set up his vehicle customization shop on Moray Street four years ago.
“Everything has been verbal up until this point except for that one piece of paper. It’s just hearsay and e-mails with no real 100-per-cent facts.”
Despite that lack of communication, Tetu began compiling the costs he felt would be associated with the move and the renovation to his new warehouse — everything from new alarm systems and wiring to costs associated with marketing and the move itself.
The number he’s tentatively arrived at comes in at more than $175,000, though he’s still unsure as to what the final tally will be because of a delay in getting his building permits approved in Port Coquitlam, and other costs that he won’t be able to assess until he’s in his new shop.
Tetu said the province’s counter offer came back to him at approximately $58,000, and he figures he’ll only get about 25 per cent of the actual relocation costs back.
However, a statement issued Thursday by Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Shirley Bond suggests that the “vast majority” of expropriation agreements are agreed upon through consensus.
“The province has proposed flexible timelines for relocation and all negotiations with tenants are in the spirit of affording businesses appropriate times to make the necessary arrangements,” Bond said in the statement.
“The negotiations have started early so that businesses are accommodated as well as possible and are given as much time as possible. Historically, the ministry’s expropriation rate is very low and reflects our exceptional efforts at working collaboratively during property acquisition processes.”
Tetu is also upset about the methodology the province has used in making its offer to him. Among other things, he said that Ministry of Transportation staff suggested he rely upon friends to help move the business as opposed to using a professional moving company.
He added that the government’s offer was based upon his shop being open for half days in some instances, and for a quarter of the normal business day in others. Tetu said his business doesn’t work like that.
“If you have an expedition vehicle in here that you need to go somewhere, and it’s an eight-hour job that’s required, you would laugh at me if I said, ‘Well sir, we’re going to work on your truck for two hours today, two hours tomorrow and only for an hour the next day.’ Imagine telling a customer that that eight-hour project won’t be done for a week and half? It’s not going to work. We’re either open or we’re closed. My schedule is not dictated by this chart.”
The Coquitlam resident also maintains that the compensation offer does nothing to address the time it will take between when his shop closes down in Port Moody, and when the new one opens up in PoCo — a timeframe Tetu suggests will be more than a month at the least.
The PoCo facility requires a major renovation, and because of the building’s odd shape, will require considerable planning even before those renovations take place.
“It’s a bigger warehouse, and with that comes more property taxes, more heat, more light, more insurance,” he said. “I was kind of content with what we had here because it was affordable and it was within the budget.”
Dave MacRitchie’s Spring Street-based shop, MacRitchie’s Automotive Specialties, has also been tapped for relocation, though MacRitchie declined to comment when contacted by The NOW.
John Kurucz | – The Coquitlam NOW -
