Province to look at flood work application
CBRM mayor, N.S. officials meet
Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke said provincial officials have agreed to look at putting forward an application for federal flood mitigation funding covering multiple municipalities but the process will have to move swiftly as the application deadline is next month.
Clarke met Thursday with Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Lloyd Hines, the department’s deputy minister and also with Derek Mombourquette, MLA for Sydney-Whitney Pier and Minister of Municipal Affairs.
“What they’re looking to consider is a Nova Scotia application that would take in the various projects,” Clarke said, adding Sydney would be included in a proposal including other flood-prone areas such as Colchester and Cumberland counties.
The threshold to qualify for the federal program is $20 million in projects.
At a meeting earlier this week, Alexander Wilson of the engineering firm CBCL Ltd. outlined some of the ways the CBRM can mitigate the impact in areas of Sydney. However, he indicated no amount of engineering can completely stop the problem, particularly in lowlying areas of the Wash Brook along Townsend and Prince streets.
The full list of options presented to council could cost more than $20 million without fully resolving the issue.
Clarke said what are believed would be the most effective components could cost about $3.5 million collectively.
“We have to as a council determine what we would recommend and get it back to the government this month,” he said.
Council had committed to holding a public open house on the issue to gather feedback from residents on the options. Clarke said they will have to act quickly to schedule that meeting, possibly as early as next week. In addition to CBCL staff, the provincial has also committed to having staff on hand. A special session of council may also have to be held to hold a vote on the issue, Clarke said.
He added they also have to get details on the potential funding breakdown, but they are currently working on the assumption it will likely be equally shared by the three levels of government.
Even if the application is submitted on time and is approved, it still unclear when work could begin. Clarke said because of the “in-depth work” already done by CBCL the CBRM could be tender-ready for whatever options are pursued.
How the work, if approved, would be budgeted for by the municipality is also still unclear, Clarke said.
“Often with these programs, it’s a couple of years, whether the federal, provincial moneys could flow first and then our money in the next budget year to take some pressure off the municipality,” he said.
There will soon be a fiscal update provided to council and a surplus is anticipated due to weather conditions over the winter as well as the CBRM’s management practices, Clarke said. If there is a surplus, he said they will hopefully be able to consider flood mitigation as well as some road and sidewalk repairs, he said.