The City of St. Albert is handing over a list of municipal projects for upper levels of government to consider, including a project to service lands for the city's next business park.
The city is getting $7.8 million from the province's $500-million Municipal Stimulus Program (MSP), which will go toward funding four shovel-ready projects. The MSP is part of Alberta’s economic recovery plan in an effort to create local jobs, reduce municipal red-tape and enhance provincial competitiveness.
The city will also redirect about $10.9 million in federal transit grants into a new COVID-19 funding stream to put toward repair, maintenance and replacement and growth projects. The federal funding stream is a bit different as this isn't new money, but rather a redistribution of money so municipalities can focus on funding quick-start, short-term projects to respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
City administration made the request to council at the Sept. 28 special council meeting. Administration will now send formal applications to the province and federal governments prior to the Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 deadlines.
Under the provincial program, the biggest priority the city had for their list of 'shovel-ready' projects was the servicing of Range Road 260, the lands on the west side of Ray Gibbon Drive that have been designated as the site of a future rec centre. This servicing project will also help foster economic growth within the Lakeview Business District, according to the city.
The city is asking that $5 million of their allocation be put toward the $21-million servicing project. The rest of it will be financed through debt supported through the city's off-site levy recovery fund.
Two intersection improvement projects are next on the city's wishlist, including $1 million for Boudreau Road at Bellerose Drive and $805,000 for Everitt Drive at Ebony Way. A $1.05-million project to design and install a rooftop solar power system for Servus Place rounds out the list.
Nine projects were listed for approval under the federal government's new funding stream, including $3.8 million for Kingsmeade Park, $1.7 million for Servus Place lifecycle replacement and $2.8 million for Fowler Athletic Park refurbishment.
Under the COVID-19 resiliency stream, municipalities are only required to match 20 per cent of contributions to access the entire $10.9 million in grants. Projects listed must be completed by 2021, meaning the city can tap into the grant within one year.
Diane McMordie, city director of finance, noted this new stream would mean transferring dollars away from supporting transit assets. To buoy the transit reserve, she recommended any dollars previously allocated for those projects (totalling just over $4 million) be redirected there.
Mayor Cathy Heron asked about the $972,000 allocated for the city's emergency operations centre, which hadn't been in the city's budget before this.
Prior to COVID-19, there had been an emergency operations centre plan, but administration took that off the books, said Kevin Scoble, chief administrative officer.
Then the pandemic hit, and the EOC team realized within a few weeks that they needed a bigger location and moved to St. Albert's economic development building, which ended up displacing some other city departments, Scoble said.
"If you drive by the business centre you'll see a seacan out back that's got all the economic development and taxation stuff in it right now," he said.
In June last year, council approved the 2020 (RMR) capital plan, which includes a $14.1-million rebuild of Firehall #1. Plans already outline an addition to the fire hall meant for the EOC, McMordie said, and this increase in funding would help build-out the interior.
"It can be built right on to the existing contract for Firehall #1," McMordie said.
Council approved the recommendations unanimously.
