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City council picked apart next year's forecasted capital budget for the first time on Tuesday night, questioning some projects, adding others and getting an idea of how to start tackling the city's infrastructure gap.
City staff are proposing spending up to $39.3 million on capital projects next year, with just less than $26 million on general capital projects and an additional $13.3 million on water and sewer projects, including grant funding.
Atop the list of some 100 targeted projects are the $4.2 million Laurentian Ski Hill sanitary sewer trunk extension, the reconstruction of the Lakeshore Drive overpass, and the Seymour Street - Highway 11/17 intersection, among others.
The politicians were also in favour of approving an additional $500,000 in ongoing asphalt resurfacing projects, boosting next year’s total to $4 million in that category.
The injection, as proposed by Coun. Derek Shogren, is an attempt to start clawing back into an estimated $22.7 million shortfall in 10-year capital funding, 90 per cent of which is attributed to roads, bridges and storm sewer infrastructure.
“My end game is I want to see us put more money into asphalt resurfacing - I hear it everywhere,” said Shogren. “We’ve forecasted $3.5 million for the next three years, and I’ll be asking every year to boost it up to $4 million. I think in a $20 million budget, we can find $500,000 in other areas […] to get to that mark, so I don’t think it’s a big ask.”
The city’s chief administrative officer, Jerry Knox, has been tasked with finding efficiencies throughout the forecasted capital budget to make up the additional funding.
As expected, the $4.2 million Laurentian Ski Hill sanitary sewer trunk extension project was discussed at length, with the project moving ahead for now.
The project, which falls under the water and sanitary sewer capital budget, will help address the Janey Avenue pumping station, which is reaching the end of its useful life, ultimately providing services for up to 6,600 residents.
There were concerns for the water and sanitary users funding the entirety of the project, but the group ultimately decided to leave the larger philosophical concerns over who should shoulder the payments on such projects until the new year for the Long-Term Financial Policies Review Committee to look at.
The reconstruction of the Lakeshore Drive ONR overpass project, on the other hand, is expected to get underway in the new year after significant third-party funding was kicked in.
But on Tuesday, Coun. Mark King questioned the reasoning behind rebuilding the bridge when the rail sees so little traffic compared to when it was built, suggesting instead to flatten it and capitalize on potential cost savings by simply reconstructing a level crossing.
“That overpass was built because CP had trains that were a mile long,” said King. “CP doesn’t run through there, nor will it ever run through there, we might as well face that fact; so the use of that bridge is absolutely immaterial and the repair project for it doesn’t make sense, in my mind.”
But the “shovel-ready” project, which has been on the capital forecast for at least six years, has undergone design and engineering scrutiny and is all-but-ready to go ahead, upon approval.
Roughly $3 million in government and third-party funding has already been approved, which the city would jeopardize losing if their share in the project is reconsidered after the agreement.
On top of that, Jerry Knox said maintaining the railway in its current state is crucial for the city’s long-term vision, while Mayor Al McDonald alluded to at least one economic development project currently in the works to try and spur the railway.
“I would suggest to council that that’s one of the things we should be fighting for: to maintain that and force the other levels of government to invest dollars to ensure that we have that east-west rail traffic,” said Knox. “Otherwise, we’re going to be captured by one railway, and that’s the north-south.
“I don’t think we should lay down as a Northern community and let that happen,” he added.
City staff also sprung some surprise projects on the group, including two crucial projects at Jack Garland Airport and the Discovery North Bay Museum on Oak Street, none of which are included in the capital budget envelope presented.
The airport power-unit and runway projects were forecasted to be shovel-ready in two or three years from now, but have been accelerated after being recently being identified as high risk.
The Museum roof, meanwhile, was hit hard by a recent storm, forcing the group to address the damage at a cost of $50,000-$75,000. The committee seemed supportive of granting the museum the seed money via the city’s capital reserve fund, so as to avoid it becoming a long-term capital line item, while the Museum also pursues grant funding.
Historically, the city has not funded the Museum despite owning the property, but they are looking to council for help given the unique circumstances. City staff are expected to report on the project soon.
Other notable projects in the envelope include Seymour Street - Highway 11/17 intersection ($3.6 million), King’s Landing Commercialization project ($525,000 in 2016), and Memorial Gardens rehabilitation projects ($340,000), as well as a long list of other ongoing projects.
Overall, up to 80 per cent of the general capital spending is expected to go to asset improvement and maintenance, with the remaining 15 per cent and 5 per cent being divied up in the growth and investment categories, respectively.
On the water and sanitary sewer side, maintenance projects are expected to take up 62 per cent of the budget, while growth projects and strategic investments projects are anticipated to take up 33 per cent and five per cent, respectively.
However, the capital forecast discussed on Tuesday will be subject to the Mayor’s progressive budget plan being adopted by council.
Put simply, that plan calls for the city to recall its loan to North Bay Hydro to offset the pay as you go component and inject $12 million of those funds into the capital budget over the next three years, while also reducing debenture borrowing to $5 million from the current $8.5 million.
All decisions from Tuesday night will still require the minimum six councillor votes to pass as well.
Moving forward, the group will sit down again on Monday, December 21, to go over city staff’s projected outcomes of their 2016 capital forecast. From there, council is expected to vote on the final capital budget in the first meeting in January.
What do you think? Which maintenance projects or infrastructure investments need to be addressed first and foremost? What can be delayed? Share you thoughts in the comment section below.
