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Barrhead’s Main Street slated for rehabilitation

Councillors select the revitalization of Main Street for Municipal Stimulus Program money
cropped-Main Street rehabilitiation
Town of Barrhead councillors selected Main Street rehabilitation as its top priority for Municipal Stimulus Program funding. Barry Kerton/BL

BARRHEAD-The Town of Barrhead's Main Street will be getting a makeover on someone else's dime.

At least for the most part.

On Sept. 23, councillors unanimously accepted a proposal from the public works department to use the $544,302 the municipality has been allotted as part of the province's Municipal Stimulus Program (MSP) to rehabilitate Main Street as well as gravel a one-block section of 45th Street.

On July 26, Premier Jason Kenney announced a total of $1.1 billion in funding will be going to municipalities and Métis settlements to help them with infrastructure projects that would have been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as help these governments with their operating costs in the midst of the crisis.

The municipality's allotment is $544,302. The allotment municipalities receive is calculated using a similar formula as the federal government's gas tax program.

Public works department created a list of five projects they believe would be the best use of the funds, ranging from the rehabilitation of Main Street as its top choice, estimated at $441,249 to the lowest of asphalt resurfacing fo 47 Street, in the town's industrial district, estimated at $1.3 million.

Other projects listed included the rehabilitation of 45th Street from 50th to 51 Avenue and the rehabilitation of 47th Street in the industrial district through gravelling. The latter project cost is estimated at $1.7 million while the 45th Street project ranges from an estimated $234,000 to $296,000 — the difference being if it is resurfaced with gravel or asphalt.

The municipality needed to submit its application on how they will use their MSP funding by Oct. 1 and that any project must be completed by the end of 2021.

Chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc said the municipality also had the option of contributing additional funds to any of the projects including from their 2020 Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) or federal Gas Tax grants.

"Council has yet to allocate those funds, so we have a bit of wiggle room," he said, adding between the gas-tax and MSI grants the municipality had about $1.2 million in additional funds available.

Mayor Dave McKenzie said his preference would be Main Street.

Coun. Leslie Penny agreed that Main Street would be a good use for the MSP money, but said the projects in the industrial district deserved serious consideration.

"I know the sidewalks need some work, but overall Main Street looks good ... the people in the industrial park deserve some attention," she said.

Councillors Shelly Oswald, Ty Assaf and Rod Klumph also through their support behind the rehabilitation of Main Street.

Oswald, who is the recreation director at Hillcrest Lodge, said she favoured the rehabilitating Main Street, because of the condition of its sidewalks.

"We want people to walk downtown and one of the biggest hindrances, especially for seniors is uneven sidewalks," she said.

Klumph favoured the Main Street project stating it would help bolster the business community.

"The Alberta government is doing what it can to stimulate the economy and by rehabilitating Main Street, that is something we can do to help our local economy," he said.

Although he supported the project, Klumph asked if replacing the trees had been factored into the cost as he believed one of the reasons why the sidewalks were in disrepair was partially due to the growth of their roots.

Penny also commented on the state of municipality's "sad-looking trees" and said she hopes they could be replaced adding if they did not find the money for their replacement they would lose their "tree canopy."

"Perhaps they could be replaced with something or done in some way that their growth would not impact the sidewalks," Klumph said.

McKenzie interjected that administration is researching potential tree species that would be better suited for street use.

LeBlanc also added that replacing the trees was not part of the estimate but said the project had a $90,000 contingency fund built into it and with luck, there would be funds left over.

If not, he said administration could find a source of funding for it.

Assaf preferred the Main Street project over those in the industrial area because the MSP grant would cover only a portion of the road repairs that are needed and that it would "be unfair" to select one road or section over another.

Coun. Don Smith also supported the Main Street project but asked if the remaining MSP funds could be used for recreation, suggesting they could be used to repair or augment the municipality's walking trail system.

Unfortunately, LeBlanc said from his understanding of the MSP program, recreation was not included.

Once construction has begun, public works estimates that it will take 10-days to complete the project.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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