Town picks projects for provincial stimulus money

Sewer line replacement, storm drainage, and sidewalks were chosen as projects to use with almost $765K in provincial dollars.

Bonnyville might be getting some extra cash courtesy of the Municipal Stimulus Program, but to get the money the town is going to have to make a quick decision on how it would be used.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, it was revealed Bonnyville is eligible for a provincial grant totalling around $760,000 to put towards capital infrastructure projects with the goal of creating and sustaining local jobs.

However, in order to meet eligibility, the Town will need to submit a list of provincially approved projects by October 1st, approved projects must each begin within 2020/2021, and the MSP funding must be spent by December 31st, 2021.

“Ultimately, what was decided by council was to repair a sewer line by the hospital, which has been causing backups, a storm line improvement on the end of 52nd Street to remove the flooding complaints that we’ve been getting for years now,” said Mayor Gene Sobolewski on The Morning After.

“Work’s also going to be done on some sidewalks in areas of town like say, at 43rd Ave by the United Church where there are no sidewalks now, and building some of those.”

The hospital area sanitary line replacement is a high priority for Town administration and the only project council could’ve chosen from the list provided to finish this year. It’s projected to cost $135,000.

The 52nd Avenue storm sewer upgrade would look to help drainage issues in the cul de sac area and would be the first phase of a larger improvement, costing $130,000.

The Town also prioritized sidewalks in areas that don’t have them around Bonnyville. The goal would be to build 1.5 kilometres of sidewalks for an estimated cost of $500,000.

Town Council debated spending some of the cash on trails and infrastructure around Jessie Lake.

“I’ve been inundated with calls from individuals who use the walking trail, particularly this year–we’re talking about the one that from the bridge over towards the hospital, not the southern one that’s underwater. That path is is fairly fractured and we’ve got a lot of areas of damage that could be rehabilitated,” said Sobolewski.

He also noted other areas of concern around the lake, such as a weak water pipe that will need to be replaced once the regional waterline is complete.

Additional projects that were proposed include upgrades to the Town’s water electronic monitoring system, building a water reservoir to be included in the Regional Waterline, reconstruction of existing customers currently connected to the old Water Treatment Line supply line, and replacing a cast iron pipe beneath 54th street that lies between 52nd and 52th avenue.

Town administration has been directed to have the compiled list sent to the province before the October deadline.