$6 mil debt pondered
County council has shelled out $1.8 million to fix a road that was supposed to be paid for with cash from the Sturgeon Refinery – and may borrow $6 million more for similar roads before this month is done.
Sturgeon County council voted 5-2 Tuesday to spend $1 million of its Municipal Sustainability Initiative grant cash and $841,500 from its road network reserve to rebuild 1.6 km of Range Road 230 from north of Hwy. 37 this summer (councillors Susan Evans and Karen Shaw opposed).
Council also voted 4-3 to give second reading to borrow $6 million to rehab and rebuild two chunks of Range Road 274 just east of Calahoo, Range Road 242 between Township Road 554 and Shultz Drive, subdivision roads in Riverside Park and Cameron Park, and the 300 m of Township Road 562 east of Hwy. 2 north of Morinville, with Evans, Shaw, and Coun. Neal Comeau opposed. Administration had asked for this motion to get three readings in one go, but council did not give the required unanimous consent to do so.
These motions relate to seven road projects that council has for many years intended to fund using cash from the Sturgeon Refinery – cash that has yet to materialize. Council had asked administration to find other ways to fund these projects.
Council has four other road projects worth about $6 million that are also supposed to be funded by refinery cash.
Council heard that the county could take out a three-year $6-million loan and pay it off with the refinery cash, which administration expected to get later this year. (Cash from the refinery was supposed to start flowing in 2017.)
Evans said this borrowing was not in line with the county’s strategic plan or its significant tax revenue (read: refinery cash) and debt policies, and went against council’s repeated statements to residents that they would not spend refinery cash until they actually had that cash in hand.
“We have no guarantee at the end of 2019 that we’re going to see that revenue,” she said.
Coun. Patrick Tighe said that this move was a calculated risk, and that residents have been waiting for a long time for these improvements.
Administration told council that the RR 230 project was to be funded from reserves and grants as it was considered the highest priority. Evans voiced concerns that this project would suck up half of the county’s unallocated road network reserve.
Council is expected to call a special meeting before the end of the month to hold a final vote on the $6 million loan so that administration can build the roads associated with it this year.
Odd-even watering
County council hopes residents will voluntarily follow an odd/even schedule for watering their lawns this year in order to head off another sprinkler ban.
Council voted Tuesday to implement a voluntary odd/even lawn-watering program in Sturgeon County. The initiative calls on people who live at even-numbered addresses to water their lawns only on even-numbered days, and vice-versa for odd-numbered homes.
County officials banned all non-essential water use in the Sturgeon Valley in May 2018 after dry weather and lawn sprinklers came within three days of draining the Allin Ridge Reservoir.
County utilities manager Jeff Yanew said this program was a test to see how many people would voluntarily stick to odd/even watering. If enough people did, the county could cut its lawn water demand in half and reduce the need for mandatory water restrictions. Spruce Grove, Beaumont and other communities already have mandatory odd-even watering policies.
“There are 60 municipalities that share water with the City of Edmonton, and we want to be responsible with water,” Yanew said.
Yanew said voluntary odd/even watering would stay in place unless water shortages required more stringent measures (such as a sprinkler ban).
Mayor Alanna Hnatiw noted that the county could avoid mandatory water control measures if it voluntarily saved water.
“You can either volunteer for it, or have it forced upon you later."
