With three capital projects complete for 2018, the Town of Turner Valley still has plenty of work ahead to complete its ‘to do’ list before the year’s out. Turner Valley administration presented Town council with an update of its capital projects for the year at the July 16 regular meeting. The report shows that work is complete on installing two solar pedestrian crosswalk signals ($30,000), replacing a mower ($75,000) and replacing a boiler at the Dr. Lander Memorial Outdoor Swimming Pool ($110,00). The projects are funded by a combination of grant money, the sale of assets and reserve funds. Todd Sharpe, chief administrative officer, said the Town is making good progress on the capital project items “The budget was approved late this year, which set us behind on some of the work developing the specs and tendering,” he said. “We are confident we will have everything done at the end of the year. If we don’t, we can carry the projects forward to 2019. We don’t expect we’ll have to do that.” Projects on the list that have gone to tender include installing new water meters on 63 properties($20,000), building a pathway along Main Street South ($246,000) and upgrading the lift station at Seclusion Valley ($400,000). “Council asked for more details on some projects that took us some time to pull together like the Seclusion Valley lift station and Main Street pathway,” said Sharpe. “They wanted to see other options.” For the pathway, council was looking for the ideal side of the road to build it based on alignment and barriers and for the lift station council wanted two types of building material construction types considered, Sharpe said. The report shows contracts were awarded for the culvert upgrade at Dunham Creek on Dunham Lane ($160,000) and paving 10 alleyway aprons throughout town ($60,000). The apron work is an ongoing project that’s expected to be completed in 2022. Administration is currently soliciting quotes to upgrade the ball diamond ($57,500) behind the Sheep River Library and to purchase a backup generator for the fire hall’s emergency operations ($20,000). The Town is in the planning and design stage to replace the east municipal entrance sign ($25,000) and purchase drafting hardware for the fire department that offers real-time dispatch management for incident data to be provided en route ($10,000). The report shows that work has yet to begin on replacing the server in the municipal building. “We have our IT contractors working behind the scenes configuring the item so they will literally show up and drop it in and tie it into our existing one,” said Sharpe. “It’s a modernization is really what it is. We need to stay current.” The capital budget also calls for putting aside $60,000 to replace the department’s breathing apparatus. “We are setting money aside each year for the next three years towards the eventual replacement of their breathing apparatus instead of taking the hit at once,” Sharpe said. Mayor Gary Rowntree said these projects take time, but he has faith in administration to get it done. “We expect administration to do the tendering process and the vetting of suppliers appropriately and have them done efficiently and the least cost,” he said. The completion of some projects, such as the pool’s boiler, shows work is getting done, he said. “The boiler was a ‘had to do,’” he said. “There was some safety issues around it. “It was one we couldn’t ignore. We’ve had it for so many years. It’s part of the infrastructure that we’re able to provide to the community and outside the community.” Deputy Mayor Barry Crane said he was glad to see the report come to council. “This is the kind of detail I want to see on a regular basis at the council table so we can see projects we’ve approved are moving forward,” he said.
