Capital Plans Fine Tuned
By 250 News
Monday, February 28, 2011 06:16 PM
Prince George, B.C. – City Council has made some adjustments to its Capital Plan which was initially approved last November.
Issues facing the City include the need to upgrade the five holding cells at the existing RCMP building. The upgrading of those cells was one of the recommendations made by a Coroner's jury which examined the in custody death of Cheryl Ann Bouey who had hanged herself in one of the cells.
The cost of the upgrades to the cells would be about $540 thousand dollars. The upgrades to the cells would not be completed for some time, and would likely only be in use for about one year before the detachment moves to the new RCMP building.
Council could decide to upgrade fewer cells for a reduced cost, or upgrade all five, or decide to do no upgrades. Deciding not to upgrade the cells would put the City in a risk managment situation which means extra staff would have to be covered to reduce the prisoner to guard ratio, and that would have an impact on the operating budget.
The need for upgrades has been on the radar for some time, if there are no upgrades done and someone suffers an injury, the legal ramifications could be expensive and serious.
The other changes would see three projects added to the unfunded list:
1.-Tyner Boulevard trail is now in the capital plan as an un-funded project. Inclusion of this project in the capital plan opens the door for staff to make grant applications for the $300 thousand dollar project.
2. - Two Way Traffic on 2nd and 4th: This project, with roundabouts, is valued at just under $2 million, including it as an “un-funded” project on the Capital plan would mean staff could explore funding options from other levels of government or organizations.
3. - 4th Avenue streetscape plan: It has been moved to the un-funded portion of the Capital Plan for 2012. This is a $6.9 million dollar project, of which property owners would be expected to pick up nearly $1.4 million of the tab.
Council had already approved several projects last November including:
- PG Hotel Demolition - $1,050,000. with partial funding from the City ($600 thousand) balance from other grants. The City is waiting to hear about its success and value of any grant at which time there will be a decision on whether or not to proceed
- George Street Lighting - $250,000;
- Rotary Citizen Field Upgrade - $309,000; and
- City Hall Parking Lot - $220,000
Previous Story - Next Story
Email
Print
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Del.icio.usReturn to Home
Posted by: seamutt on February 28 2011 8:40 PM