Betting on a bridge
County hopes it wins millions in grant money by demolishing 3 homes
Northumberland County council is betting $75,000 and three homes that it can attract millions in grant money from either Queen’s Park or Ottawa.
Council decided Wednesday to demolish three homes in Campbellford so that it will be “shovel-ready” to proceed with construction of a new bridge should either senior level of government change its plans and provide money at some point.
The estimated cost of the new bridge is $55 million, but since it hasn’t been tendered the actual cost isn’t known. Last fall, council was told it would have to borrow $40 million in order to pay for construction since efforts to attract provincial or federal grants have failed. That number shocked several councillors.
But this week they all agreed to keep spending on the plan and hope their luck changes.
On its website the county says it has committed $10 million toward the project.
“The direction we’ve received from council is we’re not proceeding until we have funding from other levels of government,” Public Works Director Denise Marshall told council’s public works committee two weeks ago.
But the county’s website explained its optimistic gamble: “With new provincial and federal infrastructure programs anticipated, the Trent River Crossing represents a shovel-ready opportunity aligned with government priorities for climate-resilient, housing-enabling, future-focused infrastructure.”
The cost of having Eddy’s Demolition & Excavation Ltd. demolish 9 Second St., 109 Saskatoon Ave. and 120 Grand Road this spring will be $75,694. That’s up from the $53,933 that had been tendered because the company realized that it had overlooked part of the project in its submission. Marshall told council that the higher cost from Eddy’s was still well below the $106,000 bid that came second.
Last summer, then Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Moore told council it would soon reach a point it would have to decide whether to go ahead with the bridge project on its own. But no discussion has been held or final decision made.
This council’s term ends in October when the municipal election will be held, and the mayors elected for the next term in the seven municipalities form a new council.
County favours high-speed rail -- maybe
At the suggestion of Warden Bob Crate, who is also mayor of Trent Hills, of course, council asked staff to prepare a report on the Alto High-Speed Rail plan and its southern route so it can have a discussion next month.
Crate repeated his previous comments that the route could destroy our community.
But earlier in the same meeting, council had approved a plan to send a letter to every municipality in the province urging them to support high-speed rail lines across the country as part of an Elbows Up for Climate initiative.
Council approved that motion without discussion, as it had at committee two weeks ago. The recommendation came from the Town of Cobourg and its Mayor Lucas Cleveland, who is a member of the climate group.
The Elbows Up initiative has a five-point plan that includes building a national high-speed rail and intercity bus system.
No one mentioned the apparent inconsistency. Perhaps things will be clearer next month.
CAO for a year?
Three weeks the county announced that Dan Borowec, who retired from the county a year ago, was taking over as chief administrative officer. In response to a media question on Wednesday, Crate said that Borowec has a one-year contract. He said the county is not searching for a longer-term CAO at this point.
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