Grey Highlands council has approved spending more than $650,000 for engineering work needed for a major infrastructure project in Markdale.
At its meeting on Oct. 4, council voted in favour of awarding the request for proposals for the engineering work needed for the Lawler Drive and Brackenbury Street infrastructure project in Markdale. At its previous meeting, council had voted to defer the awarding of the tender for the work until more details about how the project would be financed.
The total amount for the engineering is $657,513 (excluding HST).
At the meeting, municipal staff provided a follow up report and chart to council that outlined how the engineering work would be financed. The municipality’s transportation and public spaces department is responsible for 55 per cent of the costs and that funding will come from the tax base. The environmental services department is responsible for 45 per cent of the costs and that money will come from the user pay water and sewage budget.
The breakdown means $361,678.35 must come from the tax base and $295,918.65 will come from the user pay water and sewage budget. A total of $200,000 has been budgeted for the project in the 2023 water/sewage budget.
With the financial breakdown in front of them, councillors focused their attention on how the project will be financed. The staff chart called for the engineering costs to be spread over the 2024, 2025 and 2026 capital budgets. However, the chart did not make any specific recommendations about amounts.
Coun. Paul Allen questioned the lack of recommendation for how the project would be financed over multiple years.
“I’m hoping we’re not paying $657,000 on day one of the contract,” he said.
Allen called for the 2024 tax base funded amount for the project to be capped at $200,000, with the remaining $161,678.35 to be spread over the 2025 and 2026 budgets.
Other members of council felt they were getting into the weeds trying to predetermine the financing for the project before the budget process.
“We’re overthinking this,” said Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen, who said every year during the budget capital projects come forward that include financing plans that are pushed into the coming years.
Ultimately, council voted in favour of a $200,000 cap on the 2024 tax base costs, with the remainder being pushed to the 2025 and 2026 budgets.
The project is an infrastructure upgrade in Markdale. It involves improvements to the underground water and sewage works, stormwater management upgrades as well as bringing streets up to standard by adding curbs and sidewalks. The subdivision was built in the 1970s and the underground infrastructure in the area has experienced multiple problems in recent years.
