The Village of Burns Lake has applied for nearly $3 million in federal funding to assist with upgrades to the Eighth Avenue and Center Street corridor.
At its regular meeting April 14, council gave formal support to a pair of applications to the gas tax Strategic Priorities Fund, one for road rehabilitation in the Eighth Ave Center Street corridor, the other for storm sewer works.
Village chief administrative officer (CAO) Sheryl Worthing said after the meeting that the municipality hopes these applications will generate $2,833,039 of the estimated $3,078,699 required to complete Phase 1 of the corridor project. The village, she said, has approximately $200,000 of its own funds set aside for the work, which will involve upgrading the existing water main and connections in the area, examining the sewer main and repairing it as required, and adding storm drains, curbs, gutters, and new sidewalks.
When subsurface work is complete, said Worthing, the associated roads will be repaved.
The 8th Ave./Center Street Corridor Project has been planned for some time, and will address long-standing infrastructure issues.
“The water main is nearing end of life, storm drains along with curb and gutters are needed to properly control runoff water, and the asphalt is past end of life,” Worthing explained.
The project is expected to take seven months. The village’s CAO said that due to the amount of grant funding required, the start date is yet to be determined.
She didn’t rule out the possibility that the municipality may borrow money to complete the work. “(It) depends on the grant money received,” she said.
If borrowing is necessary, the village should be able to service the debt. “We have one outstanding sewer loan for $125,000, which means we have virtually no debt and our liability servicing limit is very high,” said Worthing.
A recent report to council by director of finance Bernice Crossman corroborates Worthing’s statement. In that document, Crossman indicates that Burns Lake’s current liability servicing limit – the maximum amount the municipality can borrow as set by BC’s Municipal Finance Authority – is $8.7 million.
Any loan authorization bylaw proposed by council would, Crossman noted, be subject to elector accent.
The Strategic Priorities Fund is one of the key funding initiatives established under the renewed Gas Tax Agreement between the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), the province, and the federal government.
Administered by the UBCM, it provides full or partial funding to strategic investments proposed by local governments and other recipients outside the Greater Vancouver Regional District.