In the clear

City council clears final hurdles for expansion of water supply

Shovels will be hitting dirt as soon as possible on Summerside’s new well field.

City council passed the final motions Tuesday night, which were needed for work to start on the expansion of the community’s water supply.

The votes passed unanimously.

City staff had asked council to hold a special meeting and move up the approval process because work is expected to start immediately and continue until the weather puts a stops it. Duffy’s Construction has already been awarded the tender for the work.

In its 2017 budget the city set aside $800,000 for its portion of a new well field that was expected to cost $2.65 million. The rest of the money is coming from other levels of government.

The area the city has identified for the well field is an 80acre parcel between MacKenzie Drive and Bayview Drive on the city’s western border. Some of the parcel is currently woodlot and the rest has been used for agriculture.

To acquire the land, the city has worked out a deal with the current owner, 100569 P.E.I. Inc. The company plans to build a subdivision on a 30-acre parcel of land adjacent to the well field, which residents would know as the former Summerside driving range. A new street will eventually be built through the centre of the property that would connect Bayview Drive and MacKenzie Drive and residential lots sold on either side of it.

In exchange for the well field land, the city has agreed to cover the cost of connecting that subdivision to the city’s water system.

City officials said that there would no additional cost to taxpayers as a result of the servicefor-land deal and that it would be covered in the project’s original estimated price tag.