CARROT RIVER — Carrot River council has passed a motion authorizing administration to seek out a $200,000 loan in order to meet quotes for the Main Street paving project – bringing the total cost to about $992,000.
Paving will focus on Carrot River’s Main Street from south where it intersects with Railway Avenue to the north side where it intersects with Third Avenue. It will include sidewalk as well as curb and gutter repairs.
Paramount Paving was the sole company who applied for the tender, bidding a little over $1 million. The town previously budgeted $825,000 for the project, which includes a debenture loan for $655,000.
Due to the increased cost, the town chose to limit the scope of the project, eliminating the planned curb extensions. This took $57,000 off the total cost, bringing the project to about $992,000.
Brennan Hall, Carrot River’s administrator, attributed the increased cost to supply and demand, noting that they don’t believe prices will go down over the next year.
“Our Main Street right now looks terrible, the pavement is broken, there are potholes that are the size of craters, half of it is gravel on the one side, it’s very poor looking and very dangerous in some spots for not only just vehicle wear and tear but for kids, twisted ankles and whatnot,” Hall said.
“It’s huge to have this done because it’s not a nice looking street, it’s not a safe street.”
He said that although council approved a loan, depending on the timeline with reimbursements for grants on the $3.6 million water treatment plant project, they may not need it.
The water treatment project was approved for funding under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program in 2018 where it received $1.2 million from the federal government and up to 33 per cent of the total cost from the province. Hall said that some of the covered work was done using municipal funds, which will then be reimbursed through claims.
“We might be getting a cheque for the reimbursement of the water treatment plant from the government for $200,000 eventually, but we just don’t know when,” he said.
“If we had all that money back from the water treatment plant project, we probably wouldn’t have to worry about anything.”
Hall said at the current budget trajectory, the town is expected to finish the 2021 year with a $5,000 to $10,000 annual surplus.
Construction is expected to begin by early August. There is no completion date set.
Council approved the motion at a special meeting of council on July 13, which will have the loan at a fixed rate for five years.
