Town of Redcliff council passed proposed 2021 operating and capital projects

By Justin Sewrd

Commentator/Courier

The Town of Redcliff councillors were presented with the proposed 2021 operating and capital projects at their Nov. 9 meeting.
“Council was informed that grant funding would be a priority to reduce the pull from reserves, so any projects able to be funded by grants will be. Administration is seeking the approval of the below proposed project list so the items can be included into the operating budget prior to preliminary approval,” as read in the agenda package.
The list of operating projects that will be included in the proposed 2021 budget are: water treatment plant demolition, facility assessment, cemetery phase 2 consulting- conceptual design, Sanitary Sewer Master Plan, phone system updates and asset management continuation.
Capital projects will include pool storage and washroom, Town Hall mechanical and electrical upgrades, Third Avenue (between Sixth and Eight Street S.W.), south highway drainage, town electronic sign, Second Street N.E. (between Broadway and South) engineering, recycle drop off, mobile filing system, Lions Park facility upgrade and River Valley washroom.
Capital projects are complete rebuilds of roads or structures and operating projects are the day-to–day maintenance or repairs.
Redcliff Mayor Dwight Kilpatrick said, a “Couple of the projects are more than a year’s worth” of planning .
He was referring to the Second Street N.E. and the Sanitary Sewer Master Plan.
“The rest of them, the hope would be to get them all rolling and see them as projects next year,” he said.
The total cost combined is over $1.7 million.
“What that list is a result of is the October capital budget meetings,” said Kilpatrick.
“We went through a list that was longer than that and by prioritizing or picking favourites through discussions, that was the list that would be brought forward from the capital budget meeting.”
Kilpatrick says that list carried into a Nov. 3 meeting and there was not a lot more discussion on the projects then, but there was opportunity to ask if somebody felt the need or had changed their mind.
“Then what happens is this final step here- bringing it to a council meeting and ratifying it- is just putting it into play for our administration, so that they can now start working on them. Like if there needs to preplanning and tenders.”
Council also took into consideration at the special meetings on Oct. 19 and Nov. 3 the public’s project input.
“There were a few projects that people had submitted,” said Kilpatrick.
“Some of them, like the one I know was submitted or relayed to enough councillors, -the tennis court resurface- we kind of knew about that one. Some of the other ones, is a matter of can we do them or not.”
Kilpatrick anticipates 2021 to be a quieter year.
“Other than the skateboard park, which was a (2020) project (and) rolling into next year, there won’t be too much new,” he said.
Council moved the proposed 2021 capital and operating projects as presented and that the operating projects be included in the 2021 budget.
Brief:
911 dispatch services
The town has chosen to stay with Medicine Hat 911 as their dispatch service. The service will continue for three years at a cost of $46,424 with addition of a Bylaw monitoring service costs up to $4,000 per year and will be funded out of the operation budget.

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