Count Centre Wellington Township among those municipalities lining up for an infrastructure grant that the provincial government has just announced.
The province is offering a new Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative it has dubbed MIII. It was announced Dec. 13 by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan and includes $500-million for transit projects, and another $300-million in municipal infrastructure.
Township Treasurer Wes Snarr told the committee of the whole on Monday that the grant is similar to another provincial incentive grant, except that it is a straight cash grant and does not require municipalities to pay an equal amount to obtain it. Snarr said every Ontario municipality but Toronto is eligible.
He asked council to approve his preparing of a bylaw for the Jan. 28 council meeting, and said the application deadline is Feb. 15, so it must be done fairly quickly. The township would learn by March 31 if it wins a grant, because that is the end of the province’s fiscal year.
Snarr said senior staff and consultants had met several times and discussed the issue at length, and he worked over the weekend after Friday’s meeting to prepare some recommendations. One qualification for the money is the projects have to be ready to start. He said that is likely to mean the paperwork is done and approvals are in place.
Snarr also explained the average grant is likely to be about $600,000, so council must consider that when it recommends a project in its grant proposal.
He cited four possible projects to consider, and gave reasons why they should be considered:
– the Metcalfe-McNab bridge and road work to County Road 7, in Elora, which includes work on township roads, a storm sewer, county roads, sidewalk, and waterworks, for a total cost of $1.495-million, with the county paying a share of $769,000, and developer Elora Ridge Developments Ltd. paying another $148,000, which would leave Centre Wellington to pay $578,400, just about the maximum grant size available;
– replace the Forfar Street water tower in Fergus, with the estimated cost of $2.6-million at the Fergus Industrial Park, or $2.75-million at the current site;
– reconstruction of a number of roads, including Side Roads 18 and 19 in Nichol Township, Burnett Court, and Victoria Crescent, all at the north end of Fergus, as well as work at Highway 6 and Beatty Line, which carries a price tag of $6.73-million, and
– replace the trunk asbestos cement water main along Geddes Street, from David Street in Elora to Mathieson Street, in old Salem.
Snarr recommended the first option, as long as Wellington County is willing to do the work when it is scheduled in 2009. He said of the provincial rules, “They don’t tell you when you have to go. If it’s postponed one year, I don’t think it will affect funding.” Postponement could occur if county council decides to put off its share of the project for a year.
Councillor Fred Morris noted if the bylaw is to be ready for next Monday, the project the township applies for had to be identified that day.
Denis Holland, of Triton Engineering, said township officials and consultants have had several meeting with county officials over the project, and he suspect the province simply wants “all the approvals in place this year.”
Morris said when he saw the word “asbestos” in the fourth proposal, he simply had to ask if it constitutes a health risk.
Township engineer Dale Murray said it does not. However, he added the ministry is aware that asbestos is used in the inside lining of some water pipes, and over the next ten years there will be a push to replace them. He said the township simply needs to be aware that work will have to take place.
“I don’t perceive it to be a health concern, but be aware of it,” Murray said.
Director of Public Works Ken Elder said township staff considered having the line changed when planning was done for the Elora Meadows subdivision, but it was not possible at the time.
“With this program, it is,” Elder said of the grants, adding that the asbestos is inside the pipes and there is a lining over it. He said township staff check the water for problems “every so often,” and the township is aware that eventually that line will have to be replaced.
Snarr said the first project on the list is the one being recommended because the township is committed to it in 2009, because it is most likely to be approved by the province due to the partnership between the township, county, and developer (“the province likes partnerships”), and the net cost to the township is close to the amount likely to be approved per project application.
Council voted unanimously to promote the Metcalfe and McNab bridge work and road work to County Road 7, and asked staff to have a bylaw ready for approval on Jan. 28.
