Meadow Lake City Council deliberate potential city projects

Additional projects were approved in the 2020 budget but have not yet been started. The projects have been paused until a clearer picture of the pandemic impact was known so that the city could reduce costs or postpone if needed. These projects are to be included in every proposed scenario as they allow the 2020 capital projects to proceed as planned without needing to borrow, withdraw from reserves, or reduce other project scope.

Approved Budget items include the replacement of parks mower at $30,000, hydrant replacement at $70,000, valve replacement $70,000 and Public Works storage at $25,000 for a total of $195,000.

The Long Term Care Levy includes local shares of health buildings as one of the permitted categories in the program. Council could choose to allocate one year’s worth of the levy as a project. The first payments for the facility are expected in spring-summer of 2021. Unlike the other proposed projects in this list, the direct impact from this option would be to remove the $125 per dwelling unit levy from all of the 2020 tax bills as a onetime break due to the pandemic. Unless there are major changes to either the levy or the local share on this project, the levy is expected to remain in place for at least another eight years with a total cost value of $244,000. The city is still considering whether to waive the levy entirely.

In addition to approved budget items, the city is discussing solar power at the arena with a preliminary estimate of $233,000

Paving and Utilities

Required Increases to 2020 Paving Budget costs include a total of $70,000. Since the paving tender was awarded last month, several additional patching areas were identified as priorities for this year, for a total additional budget of $59,000.

A need for additional excavation and paving at the intersection of 3rd St. and 3rd Ave. East was identified, at a cost of $11,000. As the paving tender was awarded with no room in the budget for contingency, the preference is to include this paving work within the MEEP funding program.

“We tried to put together a list, it’s not exhaustive by any means, but we sent out the criteria and we submitted the things we thought we could accomplished that had to be removed from the 2020 budget discussion,” the city’s manager Diana Burton said in the meeting. “There are some new proposals and there’s some different options for paving and we’re looking at narrowing the scope of this and hopefully be able to bring firmer information to our next meeting in June in order to get council resolution we need in order to submit the application for the projects we would like to apply the money to.”

Additional items considered were improvements to Railway Ave at a cost of $39,000 and $35,000. Two options were presented for improving Railway Ave. including milling and paving select locations for a total cost of $39,000. An option for a straight overlay on the concrete portion of the road from 1st St. East to 1st St. West was included, for a cost of $35,000.

As additional locations were not included in the budgeted scope for 2020, utility inspections need to be conducted before paving could begin. If funds are approved for one or more of the recommended sites, selection would be prioritized based on the condition of the utilities. Three locations have been proposed by the City Engineer: the 300 block of 3rd Ave. West for a cost of $110,000, the 500 block of 2nd Ave. West for a cost of $190,000, and the 400 block of 3 rd St. West for a cost of $190,000.

“It gets really exciting when these things get announced [but we can] easily compile a list of over $3 million [for needed projects,]” Burton said.

The City additionally discussed a full replacement of the sanitary sewer on 4th St. E. for an estimated cost of $115,000 – $289,000. These locations are proposed due to the poor condition of the sanitary sewer main. The street in this area is gravel, so paving afterward would not be replaced. The 200 block is prioritized higher than the 100 block, as assessment of the main has revealed that spot repairs are no longer possible due to its condition.

Sanitary Sewer Relining at 3rd Ave West for an estimated cost of $198,000. This project would propose to perform relining on two blocks of the sewer main in preparation for paving at a future date. Relining is not as disruptive to the street surface as full replacement and so paving would not be required immediately after this work was completed. If this project is selected, the $85,000 currently allocated for spot repairs to the sewer system could instead be allocated towards this project, reducing either the required grant amount or the 2020 pandemic related deficit.

In addition to the proposed projects, the city also considered an automatic license plate reader to alert the Community Safety Officer of unregistered vehicles for a cost of 47,000, Backup Facility Power for possibly two buildings to be included at an estimated of $100,000 per building, fire equipment upgrades, a mobile air unit at an estimated cost of $150,000, a sprinkler trailer for the fire department at an estimated cost of $120,000 and combining the highway rescue vehicle to a single heavyduty truck for an approximate cost of $350,000.

Other considerations were paving the walking path at Lions’ Park and examining ways in which the residents could immediately enjoy provincial funding. The city will finalize its application to determine where funds could be allocated at the next council meeting on June 8.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722

by Nicole Reis

Meadow Lake City Council deliberate potential city projects

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