The mayor hoped to permanently repair the potholes in Winnipeg

A businessman planning to run for mayor of Winnipeg says he has found a solution to the city's pothole problem.

Michael Vogiatzakis brought an inventor from the United States to demonstrate his solution – a machine that mixes asphalt pothole filler with recycled tires at very high temperatures.

“Eventually, if we get enough of these units on the street, potholes will be created,” Vogiatzakis said during Friday's demonstration.

Saverio Marra, who traveled from New Jersey to Winnipeg, filled the hole in front of reporters with a little heat, a little rolling and a little grinding of the mixture.

“You have to have a hot contact. It has to be hot when it goes down and into the hole,” he explained.

Vogiatzakis said the machine is widely used in Michigan and works well here.

“It's easy for the City of Winnipeg to transport it – it's on a trailer – no different than transporting a snowmobile type of trailer, and the equipment is attached to that trailer. It's fast (and) efficient,” he said.

Currently, the mix the city uses to fill potholes is too cold, Vogiatzakis said.

The machine he is talking about uses a mixture of old, shredded tires as well as lime, cement and asphalt.

“So when he (the inventor) fills a hole, that hole is filled at 340 degrees and it's a permanent repair. “Once he closes that hole, he's not coming back,” Vogiatzakis said.

Jim Berezovsky, the city's manager of street maintenance, says officials are open to testing new ideas and methods.

At the same time, he cautioned that in Winnipeg's cool climate, it is difficult to keep the pitted mixture hot.

“One of the city's constraints is operating a small, technical hot mix plant that's efficient in our climate during the winter season,” he said.

The city is working with the University of Manitoba on similar technology, Berezovsky said.

On Friday, Vogiatzakis faced questions unrelated to the pit, such as whether he spent money on his media event. City election rules prohibit campaigning until early May.

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But Vogiatzakis said he didn't pay for any part of the event — not even the sound system, the signs or Marra's appearance.

When they asked him if he was “gifted,” Vogiatzakis replied, “It wasn't even gifted to me, it was just brought here.”

Also, the mayoralty candidate was pleased with the many court appearances he made in recent years in criminal and civil cases.

“Can I tell you something? Pencils are there for a reason: you can erase mistakes,” he said.

“Being a funeral director for the last 15 years of my life changed my life.”