Mayor now hopes to see draft Hamilton LRT agreement by early September

City officials now aim to have a draft agreement for Hamilton's LRT project before council in September.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger had hoped talks with Metrolinx would have produced a document for review by August.

It's just taking longer. I really don't see any barriers to getting this done," he said Thursday.

There's no deal-breakers coming forward as part of this process. It's just getting it through the process."

In June, council voted 9-6 to direct city staff to negotiate a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) with provincial transit agency Metrolinx to resume work on the $3.4-billion project.

The draft MOU will define responsibilities for operating and maintenance costs.

Eisenberger said the target date to discuss the draft agreement with councillors is the Sept. 8 general issues committee.

In a recent interview, city manager Janette Smith said representatives of the city, province and Metrolinx have been meeting several times a week to hash out the draft.

We're kind of keeping our feet to the fire," Smith said, noting the talks involve refreshing" the project's previous MOU.

Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said Thursday the agency continues to work very diligently" with the city on the draft document but couldn't commit to a talks completion date.

Council's approval in June came after the provincial and federal governments announced they'd agreed to a combined $3.4-billion funding package to cover the project's capital costs.

The announcement came as welcome news for Eisenberger, a staunch supporter of light rail, and pro-LRT councillors after the province cancelled the project in late 2019.

But other city politicians have voiced concerns about the 14-kilometre line's potential operating costs as well as who would pay for capital overruns and longer-term maintenance.

Some also contend $3.4 billion on the Main-King-Queenston line is not money well spent and favour the development of a city-wide network for bus rapid transit.

Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna has said affordable housing along the LRT route is a condition of her government's $1.7-million funding commitment.

Smith described the MOU as a high-level framework" that won't necessarily involve every aspect of the project in detail, including the housing element.

I think it's fair to say there's a commitment from everyone that affordable housing has to be a component of (LRT). We're just not sure what that looks like yet."

However, the document will address affordable housing and indicate a process to deal with it, she said.

The draft MOU will be subject to another vote when it goes before council.

The provincial and federal governments have asked the city to commit to the project as soon as possible to allow construction to start next year.

We know there's a sense of urgency to get this done, and people are eager to move on and get the LRT built and so are we," Aikins said. That's why we're working as hard as we can."

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com