The District of Barriere Feb. 22, 2016, Regular Council Meeting reported on plans for the Strategic Priorities Water Supply and Distribution Improvements Project made possible thanks to a federal Gas Tax Fund.
The $4,836,735 dollar gas tax grant provides 100 per cent funding of new twin production deep wells, a second reservoir for the south end of the existing distribution system and an upgrade to the main line between Bradford Road and Barriere Lakes Road.
These improvements will provide the District of Barriere with a very robust and secure water system that will be sustainable over the long term. With two existing deep wells nearing the end of their productive life, the two new wells will be supported by the younger existing well while the older deep well and another shallow ground water well will be taken out of service.
The new reservoir on the south end of the system will increase the quantity of water immediately available for fire protection and distribution throughout the district. A water main upgrade from Bradford to Barriere Lakes Road will eliminate a bottleneck created by old under-sized asbestos/concrete (A/C) pipe.
The project will take two to three years to complete all of the phases.
Work will begin on the upgrades as soon as tenders are prepared and awarded and weather permits.
Budget Discussions Continue:
At 4 p.m. Feb. 22, 2016, council continued budget discussions for the year. The beginning of the process was marked on Feb. 9, with staff presenting council with budget projections to continue the services it provides to the community as well as to show budget implications of adding, increasing, decreasing or removing any services or levels previously discussed by council and/or suggested by residents over the past year.
From there, council continues to take into consideration any comments or suggestions from the public resulting from these discussions into the debate going forward.
The next public budget meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 7.
Copies of the draft budgets can be found on the District Of Barriere website in the ‘Public Documents’ link under ‘Agendas’ for the respective budget discussion dates (Feb. 9th and 22, 2016), or alternatively, copies can be provided by the district office upon request.
The next Regular Council Meeting will take place on Monday, March 7, at 7 p.m. at the Ridge, 4936 Barriere Town Road.