A lengthy night three is done for budget deliberations in North Battleford, and one final session will take place Thursday night before it goes to council next week.
The deliberations on Wednesday focused on the UPAR Underground Pipes and Asphalt Replacement program, Public Works Services (Operations, Waste Management, Water and Sanitary Sewer) operations, and leisure services.
The presentations from all the city departments have now wrapped up. The feeling from council is they should meet again Thursday night for some final discussions, as they consider whether to go ahead with the administration proposal of a one percent property tax increase for 2021, or adjust it up or down.
That deliberation session is scheduled to begin at 6:20 p.m. Thursday evening, and is again open to the public on ZOOM. It will be held right after council meets for an in-camera matter.
The latest three-hour-long budget session covered a lot of ground. One discussion right at the start was a holdover from Monday’s discussion: whether money could be found for the “unfunded” additional CSO position so it could be included in the 2021 budget.
Fire chief and director of protective services Lindsay Holm said they had a few options available. One was that they could find some money from towing revenue; the other was to ensure the CSO funding was sustainable by applying a fee to every vehicle that was towed.
The indication from administration was that they would provide some further information back to council.
UPAR projects:
City engineer Bob Anthony was back before council again Wednesday, this time for discussion of the proposed UPAR projects for 2021.
The biggest project for 2021 is along 102nd Street from Railway Ave. to 16th Avenue. This is budgeted at $550,000 for the water portion, $390,000 for sewer and $2,095,000 for roads. There is also proposed road work at Henderson Dr. for $250,000 to address a failing road there.
But there was considerable concern about how UPAR work was disrupting businesses — a major issue raised after impacts on businesses seen from the work done downtown in recent years.
Councillor Kelli Hawtin wondered whether UPAR should avoid the business-area locations in 2021, out of concern for those that had been struggling in the pandemic.
Mayor David Gillan also wondered if perhaps some residential areas should be done first, but administration officials noted the UPAR matrix favoured doing work downtown due to the age of the pipes. It was noted some of the pipes on 102nd Street were 100 years old.
Also discussed were the controversial “bulb-outs” or curb extensions that were previously installed elsewhere downtown at the end of the sidewalks.
Councillor Thomas Ironstand noted 95 percent of the feedback he’d received on the bulb-outs was to knock them down, and said people “absolutely hate them.”
Administration suggested this and the Downtown Master Plan could come back for discussion at a later planning meeting.
Public Works:
Director of city operations Stewart Schafer went through the public works budget and a big discussion emerged over the Cameron McIntosh airport.
The airport has seen major investment in the runways in recent years and even more capital work is on the way.
Mayor Gillan wondered about the costs associated with keeping the airport open and said he would like see more of a cost-benefit done of all the investment made there.
In response, councillor Greg Lightfoot voiced support for keeping the airport open, pointing to businesses and crop dusters that fly there. Schafer also pointed to the STAR air ambulance helicopter service.
Councillor Len Taylor also voiced support for the airport, but concurred with Gillan that he wanted to see a revenue and expense statement and a cost-benefit analysis done.
“We really should have an understanding of what our overall costs are at the airport,” Taylor said. He supported a cost-benefit analysis “not to remove it but to find ways in which perhaps we could finance it better.”
City manager Randy Patrick suggested that it come back to strategic planning for discussion.
Capital expenditures in operations are estimated to be $785,000 and include a couple of airport projects. One is the airport security fencing project for $50,000 a year over 10 years, to keep deer and coyotes out as well as the “two-legged” variety. This has been a much-talked about item at City Hall and it will finally go ahead.
Also in the budget are airport runway signs and lighting, a sander / plow truck, a tandem truck complete with box and some other items including a snowplow truck and sweeper for the airport.
For waste management, they don’t expect big changes in revenue; the surplus for 2021 is projected to be $772,352.
For the water utility, fees are expected to decrease three percent in base water and consumption rates due to less consumption due to COVID-19.
For capital in this area, expenditures are estimated to be $2,790,000. Items included replacement of John East Hydrants, a 114th Street Reservoir Pump Station Upgrade, water pressure at Borden and Laurier Cres., the radio frequency metering (RFM) equipment and technology which has already been approved, and technology upgrades (SCADA) at the water treatment plant.
For sewer, not much change is expected on the financial side, though there is an increase expected in wage and benefits and professional contract expenses. As for capital expenditures, those in the budget for 2021 are the sanitary sewer force main project at $5,160,000, and $40,000 for the completion of a sewage dumping station.
While the force main cost looks big, Schafer noted this project is being funded in one-thirds by the city, province and federal governments.
Leisure Services/Parks and Recreation:
Director of leisure services Cheryl DeNeire particularly noted the challenges of the pandemic restrictions, reporting decreases in revenue due to the COVID-19 restrictions. It was acknowledged by DeNeire and by councillors the difficulties in projecting for 2021 in leisure services.
“A lot of this is trying to guess what’s coming,” DeNeire said of the budget.
There is an extensive list of capital expenditures estimated at $868,000. The biggest ticket items are $160,000 for the partial roof replacement at the Dekker Centre; $250,000 for a SaskPower retrofit at the Beaver Lions stadium; and $165,000 for Zamboni replacement.
After council meets one more time for its deliberation session on Thursday, the next step would be for the budget to go to council for final discussion and possible adoption on Monday night.
