Port Moody residents can look forward to several road repair and reconstruction projects as a major component of the city’s $18.5-million capital budget for 2023.
But decisions to spend money on replacing the building envelope at the city’s works yard on Murray Street, as well as a $250,000 renovation of the dressing rooms and washroom facility at Arena 1 at the Recreation Complex, will have to wait until the recently-elected council formulates its strategic plan sometime early in the new year.
Other budget items that were deferred for further deliberation by members of council’s finance committee during a meeting Tuesday (Dec. 6) include a redevelopment plan for Kyle Park and the construction of a new skate room at the Rec Complex along with some projects that would have an ongoing impact on the city’s operational expenses.
But councillors did vote to accelerate a refresh of the rainbow crosswalk at Newport Village — budgeted to cost $15,000 — from 2024 to next year, although Coun. Diana Dilworth suggested the city might look at ways to reduce the cost by approaching local service groups or even stratas in the complex to contribute.
In a presentation, Tyson Ganske, Port Moody’s manager of financial planning, said a large chunk of the city’s capital expenditures in the coming year will go toward rehabilitating and reconstructing infrastructure, like roads, renewing watermains, as well as rehabilitating sanitary sewers along Stoney Creek and the Alderside foreshore.
Reconstruction of watermains and the road corridor along Ioco Road, including safety improvements and the addition of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, is budgeted to cost a total of $3.45 million.
Works yard 'beyond its useful life'
Paul Rockwood, Port Moody’s general manager of finance and technology, said while the building at the city’s public works yard is “well beyond its useful life,” uncertainty about the site’s future makes it difficult to commit too much money to repairs or even replacing the structure.
Still, he cautioned, putting off needed repairs like patching roof leaks too long could ultimately cost the city more.
“These repairs are going to have to be done anyway.”
Mayor Meghan Lahti agreed.
She said if council does ultimately decide to move the works yard to another location, it wouldn’t happen for several years.
Dilworth said keeping the works yard building in decent repair even as council considers its future “is also an issue of health, safety and morale.”
“Knowing when a big rain is coming and they’re running around trying to catch leaks — that’s not right,” she added.
Similar doubts about the future of Kyle Centre and the immediate neighbourhood around it also gave councillors pause to immediately rubber stamp spending $25,000 on creating a redevelopment plan for the adjacent park.
Dressing rooms 'dated'
Anna Mathewson, Port Moody’s general manager of community services, said the dressing rooms at Arena 1 “are very dated,” having only received new coats of paint over the years.
She said showers, toilets, sinks and appliances all need to be replaced and doing all the work at once would be most cost effective.
But Coun. Callan Morrison said as a minor hockey coach who’s spent a lot of time in those dressing rooms, he doesn’t see “a dire need” for wholesale renos, suggesting a narrowing of the project’s scope would save money.
