Homeowners Colleen Blais and Jim Ramsay, who are neighbours, present as a delegation at town council's meeting Monday. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Project cancelled

Homeowners challenged with high cost of local improvements

Jun 21, 2022 | 8:10 AM

The Town of Battleford received another petition from residents opposed to the high cost for possible infrastructure work.

Homeowners Colleen Blais and Jim Ramsay spoke to council as a delegation on behalf of five households in their neighbourhood on 3rd Avenue, between 35th and 36th Streets W, regarding a proposed local improvement project.

It calls for a new gutter and street repavement work and as part of the town’s Local Improvement Act policy, Battleford pays 60 per cent of the cost and the homeowners cover 40 per cent. Residents have seven years to pay for the project but can petition to prevent it from moving ahead.

Because the majority of property owners affected opposed this initiative, it will not proceed.

“We were all very shocked to hear the amount that we were going to be responsible for our 40 per cent – which worked out to about $23,600 per household,” Blais said. “We were all a little taken aback by that.”

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She said she knows the road needs work but the cost for the households to absorb is not feasible.

“That’s $5,000 a year, which when you do the math works out to $420 extra per month, which is still just a little out of reach for most households,” Blais said.

Ramsay asked whether the town could look at finding “a more manageable rate” that is more accessible to the property owners in the future.

Mayor Ames Leslie acknowledged the residents’ concerns.

“I don’t think anybody at this table is shocked that you guys petitioned out this section,” he said. “This section needed extensive work. Normally, it would have been peanut-buttered all across Third Avenue, so everybody else on this avenue would have taken a portion of it. But the depth of the work was extensive on a small little piece.”

Leslie added that since the project has been petitioned there will be no work done on that street this year.

In total, council heard four of seven local improvement projects this year have been cancelled because property owners petitioned against the proposals.

Coun. Alexis Christensen recommended the town look at the issue further with so many projects being petitioned.

“Maybe the way this is working needs to be revisited,” she said.

The following four projects will not proceed this year: 3rd Avenue, between 35th and 36th Streets W. ($296,000); 29th Street W., from 4th to 5th Avenues ($80,000); 3rd Avenue W., from 36th Street to Riverbend ($102,000); and 4th Avenue W., from 35th Street to Riverbend Cres. ($215,000).

Administration instead proposed adding the following alternate projects to the town’s list of capital projects for 2022: 1st Avenue W., from 19th to 21st Streets ($224,700); Central Ave., from 19th to 20th Streets ($168,975); 3rd Avenue, from 29th to 31st Streets W. ($263,675); and 3rd Avenue, from 34th to 35th Streets W. ($90,450).

The total cancelled projects added up to $693,000, while the alternate projects are estimated at $747,800, a $54,800 overage, although tenders have not been received yet.

Council approved administration’s recommendation.

Coun. Doug Laing said it’s unfortunate everything is going up cost-wise. He added the town will also have to start moving quickly to tender these other projects in July, when the budget was passed in January. But Laing said the construction season runs for a long time yet, so there is still time to do more.

Mayor Leslie said the delegation offered some good comments. He agreed the town should now move on with the alternate projects.

“We have lots of streets to repair… ,” he said. “Let’s get some work done because we are running out of summer.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW