Words like repair, replace and rehabilitate loom large in the Town of Westlock’s 2018 capital budget.
The $9,389,812 capital budget passed unanimously by council March 12 and will not only see the replacement of the water tower, which is by far the biggest ticket item on the list, but storm-water rehabilitation and system improvements, along with road repairs and the general maintenance of any number of other things.
The water tower demolition and reservoir expansion come in a $6,330,000, half of which is being paid for by a federal grant, with the balance coming from capital reserves, the Westlock Regional Water Service Commission and a $1.2 million debenture.
The west industrial storm water infrastructure project comes in at $3 million and storm sewer channel rehabilitation at $300,000, though it will be funded through the Disaster Recovery Program grant.
A debenture will also be used to pay for improvements to 104 Ave. with costs coming out to $456,784.81. Work on the 104 Ave. service road will cost an additional $337,642.33.
“There’s a lot of items in here that simply had to be done. We didn’t have a choice,” said Coun. John Shoemaker.
“There’s a lot of repairs and boiler replacements and things like that. We went through every item line by line and there’s just a lot of what we would call no-brainers. Consequently, there’s a lot of stuff you wish you didn’t have to pay for, but it needed to be done. We have to maintain the assets we have and move forward.”
Mayor Ralph Leriger agreed.
“It certainly teaches you, with the efforts we’re going through with our asset management plan and where that will lead us, what happens when you defer. When you build things you like you build up a long list of stuff that needs fixing and doing,” he said.
Leriger added there were also a few forthcoming items that needed a little more research before being included in the budget.
Also included in the budget is a new boiler and heating automation system for Westlock Place, at a cost of $145,000. The rooftop unit at the Heritage Building also needs to be replaced for $25,000, along with repairs to the public works building for $50,000.
The town will also be purchasing an emergency generator for $65,000; a specialized turf mower for $19,000 and a flat deck dump box for a one-ton truck and an angle broom for a skid steer for $27,000.
As far as recreation goes, Jubilee Arena will receive $6,500, the Keller Field grandstands $7,000 and an electrical upgrade to Mountie Park will cost $12,000. The Rotary Trail will also see $56,545 of improvements over the course of the coming year.
There has also been $46,300 set aside for sewer modeling and monitoring and $65,000 for a sanitary sewer master plan update.
An additional $50,000 will go towards a community procedures and design standards review, and $25,000 will be set aside for a community enhancement improvement plan.
Coun. Murtaza Jamaly said he wanted to bring attention to something the mayor had said during budget deliberations.
“One of the things that will be this council’s legacy won’t be the sexiest thing in the world, it won’t be some big, grand clock tower or anything like that, but it will be well-maintained infrastructure under the ground as a result of the decisions of this council so it’ll be good to know future generations will benefit from the infrastructure we put in the ground,” said Jamaly.
“OK, let’s get fixing stuff,” said Leriger.
