The provincial government is sending the City of Terrace just over $2 million with half of it to be used to hire at least six consultants to deal with the effects of the ongoing LNG Canada construction project in Kitimat.
“Finding engineers has become increasingly difficult [by the city] as demand for engineers on projects such as the LNG Canada project is high, and they cannot compete with the salary packages offered, so hiring a consultant will be their best option,” explanatory notes from the province indicate.
The list of projects to be undertaken by the consultants includes managing the project to build a staircase at the foot of Eby St. to connect the lower part of the city with the Bench, planning a renovation of the city hall entrance, planning a revamping of Thomas St. on the Bench leading to Uplands Elementary and planning to increase the capacity of the city’s sewer outfall.
Other consultants would manage the design and construction of road improvements and help deal with increased demand for residential properties.
One hiring, that of a junior planner, is intended to be permanent to deal with increased demand for residential building lots.
The overall plan, said deputy city manager Maggie Hall, is to free up existing city staffers so they can carry on with their regular work.
“This is funding for three years,” she said. “What we want to do is improve our capacity.”
In addition to consultants for city capital projects, just over $420,000 is to be spent on two community safety officers to deal with ongoing public disorder in the downtown core.
Half of that will be to keep the sole officer now on staff on salary and the other half will be used to hire a second one.
Hall said feelers have already gone out to find consultants and that recruiting can now intensify.
In addition to the engineering consultants and safety officers, $486,000 is to be spent on a consultant who can find ways to increase housing, including efforts to find homes for homeless residents and on a consultant to help the city deal with emerging complex social issues.
“We know that housing is something the community talks about,” said Hall.
The city originally applied for the money last fall through the Northern Development Initiative Trust which administers the Northern Healthy Communities Fund for the province.
It had to commit to spending some of its own money in order to receive larger amounts from the province.
The city also asked for money to hire an RCMP officer but that request was not granted.