LAC LA BICHE - The refurbishing of the Lac La Biche water tower will go ahead after council approved an additional $106,000 for the project at the May 13 council meeting.
The money will come from the county’s accumulated surplus and includes $89,218 for additional “deletable” work and approximately $17,000 to acquire the land surrounding the tower.
According to the Stability Assessment Report completed by Martushev Group, while the tank is structurally sound and the foundation is stable, it does not comply with the current Alberta Building Code.
The additional “deletable” work includes a concrete pad around the base of the water tower, tank lettering and logo, and lighting.
The project has an approved budget of $625,000, which includes $372,812 for the refurbishment of the tank, $119,300 for the engineering, the newly approved deletables, and an unspecified amount for the land the tank stands on.
Ward 7 Coun. Lorin Tkachuk brought forward the motion for the funds, saying, “We've discussed this 5,000 times in this office or in these chambers.”
He added, “Let's get this done. The timeline shows that it could be potentially completed by early August.”
Ward 1 Coun. Darlene Beniuk questioned if council was putting the cart before the horse.
“I really have a problem with saying ‘Yeah, to go ahead,’ to approve something when we haven't finished an offer to purchase or anything like that,” said Beniuk.
According to Hafsah Moghrabi, the general manager of corporate services for Lac La Biche County, negotiations for the land are 90 per cent done.
“We have a draft agreement, and the land owners are in agreement with Lac La Biche County. We just kind of need to get the signatures complete,” said Moghrabi.
The exact cost of the land is not yet public information, although administration indicated it had been discussed and approved at a previous meeting during closed session.
“Lac La Biche County will be meeting with the landowners to kind of speed up the process so we can begin the project based on the timelines that the consultant has presented today,” said Moghrabi.
The tower was built in 1967 but has been out of service since the construction of a reservoir and pump house more than 10 years ago. A survey of residents last September showed a strong preference for retaining the tower instead of tearing it down.
