Council given updates on various projects

With construction season now in full swing, council heard updates on the various projects taking place across town during Monday night’s meeting.
“Most people have noticed that the tower has now been dismantled and is sitting in sections on filter cloth, on the roadway out at the previous location,” Community Services manager George Bell said in giving council an update on the lookout tower relocation project.

“It will sit there until they’re done cleaning it with pressure wash water and then we’ll do an evaluation of what it looks like then—whether or not we need to look at painting it or something else.
“I’m very optimistic that we won’t have to,” Bell added.
As for its new location on the waterfront just east of the Sorting Gap Marina, Bell noted the construction company is slated to being driving piles into the ground over the next few weeks.
Work on the Hallett part of the project isn’t scheduled to take place until July, he said.
While floating the Hallett down to its new location in the river just west of the marina wasn’t part of the original specifications, Bell said they’ve now gone back to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Oceans and Fisheries to apply for work permits for this method.
“In regards to the Portage Avenue underpass project, we still haven’t had any approvals from CN on the soil anchors,” Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown told council Monday night.
“We’re trying to get this project moving as quick as possible,” he stressed.
“[CN has] had these soil anchor results for two months now,” noted Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig, adding that while he was speaking with someone two weeks ago and had them push on it, he was told they would have the information the next day.
“Well, it’s been two weeks,” McCaig noted.
“Everything on this project is pre-empted by this decision,” he added. “I know that everybody is ready to go and get at it down there and get this thing finished, but we can’t move without this approval.
“It should be done by now and we should be rolling down there.”
“I know the residents have been very inconvenienced over the last two years,” said Mayor Roy Avis, stressing council is pushing as best it can for this project to go forward.
In related news, council endorsed a grant application to Industry Canada’s Community Adjustment Fund to cover the building of a new storage building or dome capable of storing 6,800 tonnes of winter control products (i.e., sand and salt).
The town is requesting the grant cover 80 percent of the costs ($528,277.20), with council, in turn, providing the rest—roughly $105,000—funded either through long-term debt or reserves, depending on what is determined at the year-end budget process.
“This is a project that has been brought up in many past budget deliberations, and passed off that many times,” noted Coun. Paul Ryan. “And here’s an opportunity now to get help with a grant.
“I think I support this,” he added. “It will save money in the long run as we won’t lose as much salt and sand due to weather.”
Under this fund, an application also has been submitted for a new, above-ground fuel tank at the Sorting Gap Marina, as well as new tennis courts here.
Also Monday night, council approved a proposed sign change put forward by the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corp. that would direct those entering Canada here towards the Ontario Travel Information Centre.
The move would see the three current signs—a large green one directing people to Highway 11 and 71 towards Rainy River and Kenora, another large green one pointing visitors towards both Highway 11 to Thunder Bay and the Fort Frances business area, and a smaller third one directing people to the travel info centre—all changed to become one large blue sign.