End is near for Ranney St. reno
Water and sewer pipes are in, paving should be done by Nov. 29
The rebuilding of Ranney Street North in Campbellford that started in early April is on target to wrap up by the end of November, weather and workers willing, the town says.
“All of the underground piping is now complete on the entire project,” said Scott White, who is managing the project. He retired earlier this year but is shepherding this $4.2 million effort to its conclusion. There have been no major surprises during the work and while there have been some additions and deletions, the project is on budget.
This means that Drain Brothers Excavating Ltd. has replaced the sewers lines that were installed in 1928, and the water lines installed in 1930.
At one point, the plan was to divide the rebuilding into two phases, but last year town staff decided it made more sense to do it all in one go – from Bridge Street East to Front Street North – about 700 metres.
“Ranney St. between Market and Front St. is complete aside from the final” layer of asphalt, White said. All that remains for that section by the high school is placement of some pre-cast curbs and installation of sod along the sidewalks and yards of the homes.
Last Thursday and Friday, curb placement was wrapped up between Market St. and Bridge St. and preparation to pour the sidewalks should be completed this week. Sidewalk placement will be done the week of November 4 and final preparation of the roadway will start that week too.
In addition, as has been widely noted, “the pool demolition is now complete with only some final grading and A gravel placement left to complete.”
The final layer of asphalt should be placed the week of November 18, followed by sod placement. Reinstating the driveways “will occur as these other items progress,” White added.
That will leave only line painting, which will be done as soon as the final asphalt is down.
White says this schedule could be affected by the weather and the availability of the sub-contractors who do the final work.
County home still sits vacant
It’s been more than six months since I first wrote about the vacant county home on Cockburn Street across from the World’s Finest Chocolate store, but it seems nothing has changed.
The home, which was planned to house five homeless people, remains vacant and unused, while the Northumberland County and Cobourg continue arguing over how to house people who will soon be removed from a tent encampment in that community. County council is having an emergency meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 29, to discuss how to deal with “unplanned reduction in shelter services.” The county has a renovated seniors residence that can house the homeless, but has been unable to reach an agreement with Cobourg about who will pay for some neighbourhood issues.
The Cockburn St. home was purchased in 2021 by Northumberland County for $575,000, using provincial grants provided under the Social Services Relief Fund that was set up to help Ontario’s most vulnerable during COVID-19.
The county said it would add the home to the facilities owned by the Northumberland County Housing Corp. and planned “to engage a community agency to deliver supportive housing” for five homeless people from the area, a county spokesperson said told me last spring.
Over the next two years the house was extensively renovated to make it accessible and suitable for its new purpose. A new front entrance was built, an extensive deck and ramp was added on the side. Inside, the kitchen and bathrooms were redone. By the end of the work a year ago, $500,000 had been spent on renovations.
But while it has a building, the county has been unable to find an agency with the money to operate the home. County staff say they are still looking. In August they told county council one of the housing corporation’s goals for 2024 was to reach a “supportive housing agreement with community partners” for the home. That deadline is only weeks away now.
I’ll keep checking for signs it is being used. The home is on my dog-walking route and, yes, on my way to the Beer Store.
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