Water tower project in ’08 budget

With $550,000 earmarked for it in the capital budget for 2008, the Town of Fort Frances is aiming to paint and fix the water tower this year.
But whether or not taxpayers end up having to foot the bill remains to be seen as the water tower project may end up being partially or fully covered by a new rural infrastructure grant the town will apply for.
During a budget meeting yesterday, Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown noted the interior and exterior of the water tower needs to be painted, and that upgrades need to be made to the ladder going to the chlorine room.
Brown added the tender for the project should go out by the end of February, with work to start May 1 and finish by the end of June.
Due to the nature of the water tower project, the town will have to pass a bylaw to restrict non-essential water use (such as washing vehicles and watering lawns) for the duration of the work.
But Brown stressed the job will be on a “tight deadline,” adding unlike a road job, for instance, weather shouldn’t affect the project much.
Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig said he and Brown will work on a grant application for the project.
They also will try to get a feel from the province as to whether they should apply for 100, 75, or 50 percent of the total funding for the project—and whether applying for 100 percent may affect their chances of getting any funding at all.
McCaig noted the rural infrastructure grant is a $300 million program, and feels an application for $550,000 has a good chance of being approved.
A grant application may be ready for council’s approval by its next meeting on Jan. 15.
“I would certainly endorse that. That tower’s been sitting on its own for a long, long time,” noted Coun. Paul Ryan. “I think there’s still [wooden] forms there from when it was built.”
Stressing the importance of applying for the infrastructure grant, Mayor Roy Avis said he’d prefer to see the province pay for it instead of local taxpayers.
The next meeting on the 2008 budget is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 21 in the committee room at the Civic Centre.