Capital Plan Returns For More Discussion Next Week

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 04:02 AM

Prince George, B.C. - Two down, and three to go. That's where Prince George City Council stands on dealing with the capital plan for 2009 through to 2013.

Although some Councillors wanted to go through the plan item by item, they agreed to look at it category by category and ask questions about the items with which they have particular concerns.

The plan is laid out in two main categories, funded and unfunded. Those two categories are then further broken down to 5 categories of replacement, maintenance, betterment, new, and operations.

Council has only been able to get through two of the "funded" categories and will have another budget meeting on March 3rd at 4:30 to try and finish off the process. Approval of the plan is time sensitive as the City would like to issue tenders for some of the projects, and in the case of others, need to have them officially "approved" before funding will be made available from other levels of government.

So here are the projects which Council has dealt with, and in the case of 4th Avenue improvements, deferred to another time.

Replacement; such as the Cameron Street Bridge

Cameron Street Bridge $3.7 million,
Computer Hardware & Software $1.213 million
Kin 1 Roofing Design $30,000
Mobile Equipment Replacement $450,000
City Hall Window Covering $25,000
Connaught Youth Centre $180,000
Library Main Ext Deck Rehab $130,000
Central Tel - Voicemail Server $80,000
Commercial Water Meters $100,000
Firehall Vanway-Kitchen Renovation $50,000
CN Centre - Walkway Mechanical Lift $70,000
Facilities Roof Refurbishments $59,000
Library Main - HVAC $20,000
Talk Light Replacements $114,000

Betterment: such as the 4^th avenue upgrade

15. 4th Ave City Work - Roads/Storm/Lighting $2,304,000 - deferred

16. 4th Ave Streetscape - Local Area Service Work $2,795,000 -deferred

17. 4th Ave - Water Main & Service Replacements $572000 - deferred

18. 4th Ave - Utilidor $973,000 - deferred

19. 4th Ave - Side Street Lights $236,000 - deferred

20. Civic Facilities Energy Improvements $200,000

21. 4th Ave Two Way Traffic $50,000 -deferred

22. Building EMS Controls Rehab $47,000

23. 20th Avenue Beautification $545,000

24. Blackburn Treatment Plant Diversion $200,000

25. WWTC Upgrades - Trickling Filter Structure $50,000

26. PG Pulpmill Rd, at McMillan Creek Bridge $2,200,000

27. Bamboo Restaurant/old CKPG Demolish $130,000

28. Intersection Signalization - Tabor/ Eaglenest $110,000

29. Sen Act Cent - Floor/Access Improvements $65,000

30. Drainage Improvements $80,000

In setting aside the 4th Avenue projects, Councilors explained they believed they were putting the cart before the horse as the "Smart Growth on the Ground" project has yet to develop the "vision" for downtown Prince George.

In all, there are about $65 million dollars worth of capital projects which have been "funded" although some of that funding comes through debenture and capital loans.

Sources of funding:

Grants	$15 million
3rd Party ( Developers of Boundary Road)	$3.27million
Debt and Capital Loans	$28.7 million
Reserves	$18 million
Total	$64.97 million approx

Still on the books for Council to discuss are:

"New" which includes the $43 million dollar RCMP Building, $14 million dollar Boundary Road connector, $7.5 million dollar River Road Reconstruction and $7.75 million dollar Community Energy System.

Under the Category of Maintenance is the $3.6 million dollar road rehabilitation program

Operations contains four projects amounting to just over $1 million

There are another $6.148 million dollars worth of projects which do not have a funding source for 2009

One of the projects that is short of funds is the Spirit Square Veterans Plaza. There is a Provincial grant of $500 thousand available and the City will use $300 thousand from the Downtown Development fund, but that still leaves the project short $150 thousand.

"We've waited eight years for this" said one member of the Royal Canadian Legion. The cenotaph work is 100% funded by Veteran's Affairs, (at a cost of $25 thousand) says Councilor Cameron Stolz who says that work will be done .

Sheldon Clare, past President of the Legion Branch 43 says the intent is to include service numbers and date of death. He says there are also some inaccuracies in the names that are on the cenotaph which need to be corrected.

Here are some of the other "Unfunded Projects" which Council will have to examine:

Fox Drive rehabilitation ( $275,000) - A road that has been in dire need of major work for several years

P.G. Fibre Optic Network ( $924,000)- this project was pitched to Council as being a key element in attracting technology companies to diversify the economy.

Water Main Upgrade for the lower Hart ($801,000)

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Posted on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 04:02 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: taxinapothole on February 25 2009 5:09 AM

20th Avenue beautification, $545,000.00. Are you serious??? Beautify it for what, so the hookers have a more pleasant place to ply their trade. the "Hoodgate" was already beautified a few years back, so where now do you councilors see fit to spend another half million dollars on 20th Avenue? It just never stops, does it Dan????

The new seniors complex on the corner of 20th and Victoria will be a welcome site. But who was the brainchild that decide to build it there. The seniors, won't be safe to leave their door!! The School Board has 5+ acres for sale on the corner of Rainbow Dr. and Kerry St. That would have made a beautiful site for this facility. A nice neighborhood, that doesn't need cleaning up! It just never stops, does it Dan???

When are you folks going to get it?? You can't clean up the downtown, or bad neighborhoods, by building nice things. You clean it up, by getting rid of the trash. You say, that is impossible, they need someplace to go. No they don't, they have a place, right where they are. Leave them alone, and concentrate our tax dollars on the betterment of neighborhoods in our community that do give a damn!

Leave the downtown to the homeless shelters, needle exchanges, crack shacks, drunks and the like. Don't move them out of there, why? They will just go and destroy another neighborhood!

cheers

Posted by: gus on February 25 2009 6:32 AM

Anything that has the word "beautification" attached to it should be ditched as a nice to have but not needed item at this time.

Now, if it were the "beautification" of First Avenue by forcing the business owners, within the next year, to comply with the bylaws and putting up sight obscuring to hide the junk yard they are keeping, and provide some trees for the screening of some of the other areas, that would be a different story.

But who cares about the City looking like a dump as you come into it from the East? That dump is most certainly not the fault of "street people". It is the fault of City Hall which has not done anything about it for decades, and the business people who no longer see the dump they are working in because they have become so used to it.

Posted by: Shellshadow on February 25 2009 8:25 AM

STOP ALL SPENDING AND BORROWING UNTIL THE FINACIAL CRISIS IS OVER! Do you people not get it? Geeeesus!

Posted by: Eagleone on February 25 2009 8:43 AM

Tax in a Pot Hole I don't understand how you hold Dan responsible for decisions he had no part in like the location of the seniors housing. I think its better if you criticize someone for actual decisions that they made and not simply ones you disagree with and stick to those you don't like.

Posted by: Eagleone on February 25 2009 8:45 AM

I oppose any beautification funding at this time for 4th avenue or 20th avenue. Those are huge dollars that should be spend to fix the roads first if anything in economic down times.

Posted by: lifesucks on February 25 2009 8:47 AM

Mayor Dan is just waiting to see how many of us he can kick out of our houses, see how far the tax money will go then. He is sitting on his nice job with a huge wage, and where in heck is Krause not attending these meetings and getting paid, more money waisted. They must stay awake all night thinking of the most stupid things to spend our money on instead of the things that really should be done, like the fixing roads and how to plough the roads more effeciently. Enough is enough already.

Posted by: DPJ on February 25 2009 9:13 AM

What about transit enhancements?

Posted by: He speaks on February 25 2009 9:37 AM

I kinda agree with Gus, Beautification project should be stalled.

Posted by: diplomat on February 25 2009 10:48 AM

How about some intensive pothole beautification first after the snow melts?

A proper mechanized pothole repair machine would do a much better longer lasting job than the local *shovel and tamp it down* brigades can ever hope to accomplish.

Many cities in Canada have this kind of modern equipment - Prince George is too stubborn to join the 21st century.

YRB used one on the Hart Highway last summer. It works!

How long can something last which has been bashed into place with the backside of a shovel?

Two days, maximum one week.

Posted by: behappy on February 25 2009 1:35 PM

Wow,
where were all you people when the election was happening? Why didn't you all run against Dan for Mayor?? He is only one voice...I see everything is now his fault, not the fault of the previous mayor and council...how soon we forget.
Wouldn't it be nice if everything could be perfect everywhere, everyday. Keep dreaming! Don't do any beautification...let the city of Prince George look like crap and hope everyone is happy with that. Can't please everyone all the time...

Posted by: Resident on February 25 2009 1:51 PM

I see the community energy system with a budget for 7.8 million still on the books. Has anybody at city hall ever figured out where the fuel will come from. there is no excess hog fuel in PG. I know Colin had us all hauling down our grass clipping for burning. Pretty tough cutting the grass when there is 3 feet of snow on it. How much money has been wasted over the past 7 years on this fiasco.
let's burn biomass downtown so we can add to the air pollution problems. Great idea.
Come on council, join the real world, put the 7.8 million in the bank, can the people working on the project, and the money saved will pay for all the gas needed to heat city hall. This is a project that has a pay back in never, never, land and would never ever be considered by private enterprize.

Posted by: diplomat on February 25 2009 4:46 PM

"This is a project that has a pay back in never, never, land and would never ever be considered by private enterprize."

It meets all the requirements for a boondoggle! That, Madam or Sir, makes it the perfect project for government! :)-

Posted by: Palopu on February 25 2009 7:35 PM

I suspect that the $3.7 Million for the Cameron St., bridge is over and above the $6 Million that the City borrowed in the first place. If so this makes the Citys cost $9.7 Million and still rising. Throw in the one million each from the Province and the Feds and you get $11.7 Million.

Note that they show $2.200,000.00 as a separate item for betterment for the pulp mill road Mcmillan Creek Bridge. This is a smoke screen and in fact would be for the turn around etc; that will be required because of the new bridge.

Again if this is so then the cost of the Cameron St., Bridge is now $13 Million and rising.

Considering that we could have got away with a $750,000.00 repair job to the old bridge this is amazing. Plus the $2.2 Million for **betterment** is money that could, and should have gone to street repair.

Smoke and mirrors. Keep your eye on the ball. Slight of hand, whatever you want to call it, at the end of the day, our money disapears.

Posted by: behappy on February 25 2009 9:31 PM

Yes just repair the bridge again and again and again. Live in the dark ages forever and never replace anything. My god is everyone in Prince George living in the dark ages. The Camberon Street Bridge should have been replaced a decade ago. And there should also be a dangerous good route....It's the 21st century people. Let's live in it. It's not 1900 any longer.
The new mayor and coucil has a huge challange to get the city to where it should have been long ago.
God Luck to Dan and council.....

Posted by: Palopu on February 25 2009 10:09 PM

There is nothing wrong with repairs behappy. Thats what you do with your home over time, and also your car. This bridge could have been repaired. In actual fact this bridge is not really a necessity.

It was abandoned by the Provincial Government as part of the BC Government road system because of the twinning of the John Hart Bridge and the building of the Foothills Bridge. The City chose to take it over for the cost of $1.00 and became responsibile for the maintenance. The City has now taken of the responsibility of building a new bridge, which under normal circumstances would be the responsibility of the Provincial Government, but in this case is now the responsibility of the City of Prince George and the taxpayers of Prince George.

The fact that it has been over 4 years since this bridge was closed and will be closer to 5 years before it is completed, should give you some indication of just how important it is.

The City blew this big time, and had they just done the repairs, they might have at some future date got the Province and Feds to build a new bridge. Because they chose to build a new one on their own we are now stuck with the huge cost of the bridge and of course the maintenance.

People who live in the dark ages are those who havent a clue as to what they are talking about. The Cameron St., bridge was replaced a decade ago, by the twinning of the John Hart, and the building of the Foothills bridge. Its the City who is totally out of line.

Only a fool or a knave would beleive that in a City of 74,000 people, of which less than one third live North of the Nechako river, that we require three bridges or 10 Lanes within 5 kilometres of each other to handle this piddly amount of traffic.

If you want to get into the 21st Century, learn to count cars and understand traffic patterns, and become aware that in the past 8 years or so this City was run by a bunch of money spending, tax increasing, politicians. Everything they touched turned brown.

Posted by: taxinapothole on February 26 2009 3:21 AM

Eagleone, I hold Dan responsible, because he heads up the new city council. The new projects they are considering are a waste of money at this time.

And one more thing, Dan was on city council for many years prior to standing in the corner for the last three years.The crap we are dealing with now, was on his plate in the past. He chose to do study after study. He better start to listen now, or he will have to go stand in the corner again.