St. Paul – The County of St. Paul will provide gravel and other aggregate materials at cost to support construction related to the Sunnyside Manor modernization project.

Better yet for the Town of St. Paul, it won’t have to come back to County council every time another load is needed.

The Town approached the County looking to purchase approximately 250 tonnes of three-quarter-inch crushed gravel, 150 tonnes of three-quarter-inch crushed rock and 50 tonnes of manufactured fines.

The material will be self-hauled from County stockpiles and provided at what administration described as essentially the County’s cost-recovery rate.

With construction expected to span roughly three years, the council decided it made more sense to address future requests at the same time.

Councillor Shane Smith moved to approve the current request and future material purchases related to Sunnyside Manor through to the completion of the project.

“So any requests related to this project can be approved at the cost recovery rates?” administration clarified.

“Yep,” Smith responded.

Administration noted the Town is responsible for some of the utility-related work on the project, while the County is already involved as a partner in the larger Sunnyside Manor modernization.

“We’re joint in the bigger project, so there’s a benefit to support this as best as possible,” administration told council.

The County has already made a significant financial commitment to the project.

Earlier this year, council approved a borrowing bylaw allowing up to $1.615 million to be borrowed toward the County’s estimated $ 2.815 million share of the modernization.

Tuesday’s decision means future aggregate requests associated with the project can be handled at cost-recovery rates without requiring a separate council decision each time. Administration indicated council will still be kept informed of additional purchases.