BONNYVILLE – Town of Bonnyville council voted to pursue grant funding for three capital plan projects for waste and water management during last week’s meeting.
Included in the Town of Bonnyville’s three-year capital plan is the construction of a new water reservoir and pumphouse, as well as the decommissioning of the town’s current reservoir #1, which is still in service to meet Alberta Environment and Parks requirements for fire flow. Also included in the plan is the decommissioning of the town’s water treatment plant that is no longer required now that the municipality is tied into the regional waterline from Cold Lake.
To assist in the financing of these three capital projects, administration sought the approval of council to pursue funding under the Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership (AMWWP) Grant.
Explaining how the AMWWP grant application works, CAO Bill Rogers said, “We're going to apply for this funding with council’s blessing and then if the projects are all considered to be eligible, (the province) will let us know.”
He continued, “In this case, we are submitting eligibility requirements and then we are going to get reimbursed for some of that money after the fact if we're successful . . . If we're not successful in getting the funding, then we'll probably (bring) some recommendations back to council about reorganizing priorities. In which we may put off the decommissioning of a water treatment plant an extra year or adjust our capital planning.”
Council heard that the new water reservoir, reservoir #3, is planned to be built on the east side of town and will eliminate the need for the town’s current reservoir #1. The cost to construct a new water reservoir and pump house with a storage capacity of 4,200 cubic metres, including force main connections, is estimated to be $7 million.
The cost to decommission the water treatment plant, which includes the Moose Lake intake and raw water ponds, is estimated to be $2 million. Noted were the Town’s intentions to salvage usable parts from the decommissioned plant.
Decommissioning reservoir #1 is estimated to cost $200,000.
The total for all three capital projects is estimated to cost $9.2 million. The anticipated amount of funding that will be applied for through the AMWWP grant is close to $3.7 million, which is 40.57 per cent of the total project cost.
Brad Trimble, the general manager of public works and utilities for the municipality, told council that administration is looking at appropriate sites for the future reservoir. Trimble added that design plans will likely be completed during 2022 with the hopes of starting construction in 2023-2024.
The Town’s administration is similarly looking at options for what will be done with the properties of the decommissioned sites.
Town appoints new Director of Emergency Management
Following the resignation of Jay Melvin, Bonnyville’s regional fire chief and the director of emergency management for the Town of Bonnyville, council was required to appoint a replacement for the Town’s director position.
Council unanimously agreed to appoint the new Acting Regional Fire Chief Dan Heney to the role of director of emergency management for the Town effective Nov. 9th.
