Lack of money, rising construction costs and inflation continue to hamper plans to better connect the Bench area — considered to be the part of town where the population will grow significantly — with the rest of Terrace, city councillors have learned.
A plan once estimated at $720,000 to build a complete staircase, along with a channel so bicycles could be pushed up and guided down, from the foot of Eby St. up to the Bench has been scaled back.
“The finished product will more likely consist of a trail and natural stairs,” indicate minutes from an extensive committee of the whole meeting in which council members were briefed on draft capital project spending plans for the 2024 budget year.
Desire for a staircase project dates back years with the city obtaining a $649,580 senior government grant just this spring. It’s contingent on the city coming up with 10 per cent of the cost.
Staircase construction design work had already started prior to costs starting to rise.
Still, city engineering and public works director Ben Reinbolt, responding to a question from councillor Dave Gordon, said the project continues to meet timelines to receive the senior grant.
But Reinbolt had far less good news for another desired project to move the pedestrian walkway portion of the road up Lanfear Hill to the other side of the road so it can be widened and lit at night.
A preliminary design had been prepared but the city was not successful in getting a grant for a shovel-ready construction design.
It’s been taken out of the 2024 capital plan along with a project to make improvements to the existing shoulder of Lanfear as well as an ambitious plan to construct a roundabout at the top of Lanfear where McConnell joins from the west and Cooper from the east.
These projects are now classified as “grant dependent”.
Council also learned that the $4.6 million no strings attached grant sent by the province in the spring could already be mostly spoken for because 60 metres of pipe at the city’s sewage treatment plant are “sitting on top of the riverbed [and] exposed to the forces of the Skeena River.”
Concrete blocks were placed on top of the pipe two years ago but are now at risk of falling off in the short term.
“Preliminary investigation suggests that repairs will come with significant challenges and resulting expense to the city,” minutes from the budget briefing show.
City staffers will be presenting councillors with more detailed cost projections for work to be done in 2024.
Also on the consideration list for 2024 will be repairs to the storm outlet on Spring Creek Drive.
“Repairs to this eroded area and the storm outlet will need to be completed to prevent a steadily worsening condition in an area of known geotechnical concerns,” the minutes add.
City staffers have, however, tentatively set aside $1.5 million of the $4.633 million grant to rebuild Thomas from the top of Lanfear Hill to Halliwell in 2025.
Budget projections also show the end is in sight for a provincial grant of $14.5 million provided over two years in 2019 and 2020.
It’s been used to top up projects the city could not otherwise afford or to cover gaps in budgets caused by inflation.
Plans for 2024 call for $576,000 to help rebuild the 4600 Block of Scott and in 2025 to use $800,000 to rebuild Labelle and $1 million to help with the reconstruction of Thomas from the top of Lanfear Hill to Halliwell.
Money from the grant is also helping pay for the ongoing refrigeration plant work at the arena.
By 2025, just $36,042 will be left, projections show.
Draft reserve fund proposals call for an increase of 1.5 per cent for water fees and 2.5 per cent for sewer fees.
They also call for a continuation of an additional one per cent hike each year in property taxes over and above what’s needed for operating costs.
That’s to build up the city’s general reserve to pay for capital expenditures.
The first one per cent increase in 2022 brought in $156,780 and last year, when the additional one per cent was added, the amount was $323,215.