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Flood projects near completion

A town that’s been dedicating more than half of its resources to flood recovery projects for almost two years is finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
The 2013 flood that damaged Decalta Bridge, roads and pathways, and required mitigation work along the Sheep River, is expected to be complete by February 2016.
The 2013 flood that damaged Decalta Bridge, roads and pathways, and required mitigation work along the Sheep River, is expected to be complete by February 2016.

A town that’s been dedicating more than half of its resources to flood recovery projects for almost two years is finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

During its regular meeting on March 16, Turner Valley Town council was told its business plan is expected to be complete by February 2016. Sixty-two per cent of the plan is related to the 2013 flood.

“These are items that would not have been necessary if the flood had not occurred,” said Ray Reid, the Town’s administrator of recovery coordination. “They have been added to the daily workload for staff and volunteers, and certainly council as well. It’s been quite a burden over the last couple of years, just about, and will continue for probably another year.”

Flood-related projects on the 60-item to-do list include repairing Decalta Bridge, which is 90 per cent complete; Quad Water Regional Partnership infrastructure repairs and replacements at 65 per cent finished; and erosion protection, which is 80 per cent complete.

No work began on replacing the campground pathway, while repairs to North Royalite Road and removing debris in the river are 100 per cent finished.

Among the non-flood related projects is establishing a new campground, which is 25 per cent complete, and building a spray park, which is 90 per cent complete.

When breaking the plan down into actual work hours, Reid said the 60 projects are estimated to take 6,747 hours of Town administration and staff time. This leaves 1,877 hours of work remaining.

He added the plan is 71 per cent complete, but said council may want to determine if non-flood related projects less than 50 per cent complete - of which there are seven - should remain on the list.

The projects include developing and implementing a business visitation program, clustering civic and commercial functions in the downtown core, establishing a campground, partnering with user groups to establish a ball diamond, developing plans for an arts centre, attending annual grant development sessions sponsored by the Province and establishing a green municipal policy.

Turner Valley mayor Kelly Tuck said the Town will make that decision when working on its capital budget on March 30.

“We need to look at where do they sit and what sits highest on the priority list right now,” she said.

Any items removed from the list will be carried over to the Town’s next business plan, Tuck said.

She added the Town’s business plans typically covers a five-year period, but the current plan was created in response to flood-related needs with the anticipation of being complete by the end of 2016.

Tuck said she’s excited about the potential of having the projects complete in February next year so the town can begin work on other priorities.

“I’m confident that it will be completed, but we’ll just wait and see,” she said. “Sometimes that just doesn’t happen. I’m hoping to stay on task but it comes to ensuring we have the materials that we require, ensuring that everything falls into place.”

The Town has come a long way since the flood, Tuck said.

“I’m really impressed,” she said. “Understanding when we say 71 per cent complete council’s priority from the very beginning was flood mitigation. The rest of our projects were put into the back burner.”

Barry Williamson, the Town’s chief administrative officer, said a lot of staff time has been dedicated to flood-related projects since June 2013.

“If you look at how much of this business plan is occupied by flood mitigation projects, to try to complete all of these things is a daunting task,” he said. “If you look at where we are we still have a fair period of time to go. I’m impressed we’ve done 70 per cent.”

Once the items on the plan are complete, the Town will determine new priorities and develop a new plan to address them.

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