BARRHEAD — The Town of Barrhead will need a bit more time to assess sidewalk damage and determine this year’s repair schedule, according to public works director Sheldon Flett.
During the April 22 council meeting, Flett responded to a question from Coun. Don Smith about which neighbourhoods or sections of sidewalk would be prioritized.
“There are a lot that I would like done. We do have some that are on the top of the list, but there will be some that are in worse shape,” Flett said. However, he cautioned that it was still too early to finalize the plan.
“Now that the snow’s gone, we’ll be taking another look. Things move in the winter, and you have to wait a while to let them settle to get a good assessment,” he said. “If you look too soon, it might seem worse than it is because the frost heaves haven’t settled.”
Smith also asked corporate services director Jennifer Mantay about the 2025 sidewalk repair budget. Mantay didn’t have the exact figure but estimated it to be around $140,000.
Coun. Dave Sawatzky questioned whether it would be more cost-effective for the town to handle sidewalk repairs in-house rather than contracting them out. Flett said most repairs are outsourced.
“We could do some of the smaller jobs, but for the larger ones, we’d need to hire more people,” he said, noting that concrete work is physically demanding and often requires experienced labour. “The people who do that kind of work are my age.”
Coun. Dausen Kluin asked if any new sidewalks were planned for 2025, referencing a previously discussed $40,000 set aside for potential projects. Flett said he didn’t expect any additions this year unless new developments required them.
Mayor Dave McKenzie added that the town has been reconsidering whether all sidewalks need to be replaced once they reach the end of their lifespan.
“There’s been a lot of discussion around traffic safety, and some science supports that in certain cases, just having a roadway is adequate,” McKenzie said. “We’ve talked before about the cost of upgrading from four-foot sidewalks to six-foot ones and how that affects road width and maintenance.”
Planning director Jenny Bruns supported that view, pointing out that some municipalities, especially those with smaller budgets, choose to install sidewalks on only one side of the street.
Street-sweeping is already underway, and Coun. Ty Assaf asked when the town would begin pothole and crack repairs. Flett said temporary patching has started, with cold-mix repairs to begin soon—once the frost is fully out of the ground.
Meanwhile, Coun. Rod Klumph asked about two outstanding infrastructure concerns.
Flett confirmed that the $100,000 repair to the old line feeding the industrial reservoir was completed. The old line was decommissioned last year after a new water supply line was installed, but crews had to access the reservoir to fix a persistent leak.
Klumph also inquired about potential upgrades to the town’s wastewater lagoons following provincial regulation changes. Last fall, Mantay had warned council the town could face a $22-million upgrade if new discharge requirements come into effect.
“We’re supposed to hear something in June to see if everything is OK regarding discharge,” Flett said.
