Highlands East council met Jan. 9 to look at what it will ask taxpayers to fund in 2024.
The departmental overview and capital forecasting session was led by CAO and treasurer, Brittany McCaw.
She told council, “the projects and initiatives that are being put forth were derived from needs that were identified through various corporate plans and documents, including our asset management plan, roads needs study, building condition assessments, organizational reviews, along with departmental needs and priorities and council-driven priorities.”
Speaking to administration, she said the biggest project is the design and engineering of a new municipal office. She said staff plan to earmark $250,000 for the preliminary building work.
Coun. Cec Ryall was in favour of putting the $250,000 into the budget, saying, “we’ve got to have this thing built in 2025.” He further encouraged council to discuss the design and engineering project with colleges and universities.
Other planned administration works are insurance in the event of a cyber-attack; asset management and corporate strategic planning; records management; energy conservation and demand management; and looking into electric vehicle charging stations.
The building department asked for $30,000 for work on its Gooderham facility; and money for vehicle replacement.
Under bylaw, McCaw is seeking a transfer to reserves for a future vehicle. She said two staff are now sharing a vehicle.
taff are now sharing a vehicle. With short-term rental monitoring and compliance, she is estimating they’ll need $25,000 to put towards the program if adopted by council. McCaw said the money is for a third-party software program.
“This is a self-monitoring solution… it would allow the property owner to be able to go in, update their licence, upload documents to self-attest that they comply with the rules in the bylaw. It’s also a monitoring program, so we have the 24/7 hotline people can call.” She noted revenue from licensing should cover all council costs.
Fire chief Chris Baughman is asking for $40,000 for a fire master plan; hydrant maintenance of $10,000; future replacement of jaws of life and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA); annual bunker gear expenses; and a bunker gear extractor to clean gear in-house versus sending out. There is money for repairs and upgrades to halls pending the fire master plan. There is a capital request for future vehicle replacement.
Under parks, recreation and planning, property supervisor Jim Alden is seeking more than $280,000 to complete Herlihey Park. He added they need roof replacements at the Lloyd Watson centre ($40,000); $10,000 for arena works; $16,000 for a columbarium at Gooderham Cemetery; $9,000 for monument replacement at Pioneer Cemetery; $31,000 for dog parks in Cardiff and Gooderham; $90,000 for work on the Essonville Church and $50,000 for a trails master plan.
The planning department capital needs forecast a transfer to reserves ($10,000) for a future comprehensive zoning bylaw update; and an official plan update.
There is $1,373,809 in net capital roadwork (minus reserves and government grants), including for works garages, and new vehicles and equipment. The big-ticket items are the McColl’s Road bridge replacement, at nearly $1.2 million, and $355,000 for Irondale Road.
Public works manager, Perry Kelly, said he wants work on the landfill attendants’ buildings; as well as some gating and fencing and security cameras. As for water and wastewater, the gross capital cost of projects is estimated at $117,000 for a series of smaller jobs.
McCaw said the requested money – about a $239,759 or 10 per cent increase from last year – would go into a preliminary budget to be presented to council in February.
