The owner of a downtown nightclub forced to close after it was damaged by the Achillion restaurant explosion Aug. 22 has filed a notice of claim against the City of Prince George.
The claim alleges the city is vicariously liable for the negligence of RCMP or bylaw enforcement personnel for failing to prevent the incident since they knew or ought to have known of the presence of persons committing crimes in that building, including breaking and entering for purposes of committing a crime with intent to steal components, including copper piping or wiring.
The claim states complaints about the strong smell of natural gas were reported the day before the explosion. Police have determined the cause of the explosion was a thief or thieves who broke into the building and punctured a natural gas line while trying to steal copper piping. The blast injured three people, including a female city employee who suffered burns and other critical injuries.
Trevor Sakamoto, owner of Heartbreakers at 1192 Fifth Avenue, people have been allowed to take over city streets and alleyways where they’re free to use drugs, steal property and vandalize buildings seemingly without fear of repercussions.
“I honestly believe the city has let down business owners on the downtown core of Prince George and they need to be held accountable,” said Sakamoto. “In the last election the mayor said he would clean up crime downtown and he hasn’t done what he said would be done. They’ve let crime go to the point where it’s uncontrollable.”
In his claim for damages, Sakamoto is seeking financial compensation from the city for damage to his building and revenue lost from the shuttered nightclub since the explosion.
“The city is obligated to make sure the city is safe, healthy and that the people are looked after and that’s not happening,” Sakamoto said.
He says city council has to become more proactive in fighting crime and provide a budget to deal with the growing problem of street people.
“When you’re constantly having to clean up needles, feces, piss and puke all around the building - people are closing their doors because they can’t deal with that,” Sakamoto said. “What’s going to happen to the economy when people pull out of their businesses. It’s property crime and damage that’s happening to us and everybody around there.”
Heartbreakers was insured at the time of the explosion but Sakamoto said the policy covers only depreciated replacement costs. Electronic components, lighting equipment, carpeting and air conditioning units were damaged by dust and smoke that was sucked into his 10,000 square-foot building from rooftop vents from the explosion and subsequent fire and he faces having to replace many of those items before he can reopen his club.
Sakamoto is eligible for $1,000 grant from the city through the Downtown Business Improvement Association but he says that’s not enough to cover the cost of one window that was smashed on the wall that faces the former Achillion site.
Now two months since the explosion, Sakamoto says only about 50 per cent of the cleaning needed to reopen has been done and he’s already missed the busiest time of year with college students having returned to classes in September.
“We’ll be lucky to open in March,” he said. “The amount of revenue I’ve lost to rebuild is unbelievable.”
Since he bought the club in June, Sakamoto said three fires have been set on his property and he’s constantly having to pick up discarded needles and human waste left near the entrance.
Sakamoto said he has the support of virtually every downtown business owner he’s talked to.
“Business owners downtown feel let down by the city, they’re having to spend thousands on cages for their windows because their stuff is getting stolen non-stop,” he said. “I’m in the same boat as other business owners, they feel helpless.”
