High River's Wallaceville demolition stalled by 2 holdout owners

Two property owners in High River refuse to sell their homes in an area slated for demolition.

• High River's Wallaceville to be bulldozed for flood mitigation

The province and town decided in 2013 toclear the area ofWallacevillein the town's northeast to create a naturalized floodway.

It's part of a flood mitigation plan to protect the rest of High River from the kind of flooding that devastated the town two years ago.

The properties included in the Wallaceville naturalization are those contained between Lineham Canal and the main channel of the Highwood River and east of Centre Street.

Nearly all of the approximately 100 homeowners in the affected area have accepted a buyout but two holdouts are putting the rest of the town at risk, says Mayor Craig Snodgrass.

"I respect the fact that people want to fight their fight, and they've got every reason to do that," he said.

"But we've been very patient in pushing things up until two years. You know? We said that once the two-year mark hits we've got to get aggressive with this to progress and that's just where we're at now."

Offer less than market value, says resident

Jamie Kinghorn, one of the two homeowners refusing a buyout, says the offer is less than market value, particularly after the post-flood renovations he did on his house.

"What I'm asking for is for fair treatment, as a land owner in the area," he said.

"All I'm saying is that I wasn't treated fairly. And I want to sit down and talk with people that are decision makers and influencers and come to a reasonable negotiation, whatever that might be."

The mayor says delaying the flood mitigation project only puts the rest of High River in danger.

The town has now authorized the province to go ahead and expropriate the land if necessary.

"The important thing is that we've made it very clear that neither of these owners will get 10 cents more than they deserved over what anyone else got out of there," Snodgrass said.