City council continued with their online Zoom sessions Monday. While it had a glitch with the video portion for the special council meeting, it was able to bring in both audio and video in time for the planning meeting to follow. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

In the chambers

City to upgrade 100 St. Service Road and Carlton Trail with new funding

May 20, 2020 | 9:06 AM

North Battleford residents should see improvements for two local infrastructure projects this summer with help from the province’s new funding announced for municipalities.

The city is eligible to receive $2.05 million for its share of the Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP) 2020 funding. They hope to use $1.45 million for the Carlton Trail roadway improvement project, and the remainder for the 100 Street service road rehabilitation project at the north end of the city.

Council approved administration’s recommendations to apply for the funding for these two projects during a special council meeting Tuesday. Councillors Kelli Hawtin and Greg Lightfoot did not participate in council’s vote due to a conflict of interest related to the 100 Street service road proposed project.

Mayor Ryan Bater said the funding will be a boom to the city.

“This will provide local jobs and local investment during a time when we really need it,” he said.

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Both projects are expected to be completed this year.

The full value of the city’s eligible funding from the province for capital work through MEEP is $2,057,472.The service road project is estimated at $750,000 in total so the city will need to internally borrow the balance of $143,000 since the funding will not cover the full cost. This amount will be replaced in the city’s reserves in future years, according to City Manager Randy Patrick’s submitted report.

The city had originally planned to fund the $1.45 million budgeted for the Carlton Trail project for this year through reserves, but will not need to do that now that the funding is available through the province.

The Carlton Trail project work will involve developing a new lighted intersection near the Walmart east access road, and changing the current intersection at Carlton Trail and Frontier Way to a right-in, right-out access, with a median for safety. The project is needed to accommodate new and future development in the area and improve safety and traffic flow.

For the 100 Street Service Road work, the city will rehabilitate the roadway and upgrade the underground portion.

The city plans to reconstruct the road to better meet standards, improve drainage, install curbs and gutters, and improve the condition of the road surface.

The city said this has been a project that has been on the to-do list for the past 13 years but was delayed due to financial constraints, so the city is glad to see it finally move ahead.

“It will provide much needed infrastructure for the properties there, as well as a much safer roadway for people coming on and off 100 Street,” Bater said.

The two projects were selected for consideration for the funding because they are both shovel ready.

The aim of the province’s program is to stimulate the economy. The province will need to approve funding applications for all projects proposed by municipalities. All MEEP funding needs to be used by March 31, 2022.

“This will be a good news story for many years,” Bater said of the support.

The mayor said the city appreciates the provincial government for providing the program, and the city’s own internal administration and planning and development team for thinking ahead and having the projects ready to go.

The city manager’s report also indicated the city attempted to contact businesses that would be impacted by the 100 Street north service road project to advise them of the proposal in advance.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow