CITY COUNCIL UPDATES
The future of two of Moose Jaw residents’ greatest current concerns when it comes to infrastructure received discussion and decisions during the Jan. 8 meeting of Moose Jaw city council.
Council extended the contract for Associated Engineering Ltd. for Phase III of the Water Replacement program in addition to deciding to maintain the status quo when it comes to services offered from SaskPower and the replacement of non-functioning streetlights.
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The extension of the water main replacement contract comes with the expected cost of $541,000 for consulting fees and is part of the ongoing project to replace the rapidly deteriorating cast-iron water mains throughout the city.
The city has currently replaced 5.1 kilometres of mains, with a further 79 km to be replaced as part of the multi-phase plan running until 2035.
The total cost of Phase III will be $6,205,100, with $5,100,000 of that earmarked for construction costs and a 10 per cent contingency of $564,100. A preliminary plan for which streets will see repairs beginning this spring was included in the report (see photo). That plan was designed based on areas with most imminent need of replacement based on ongoing breaks and expected difficulties in the near future. Homeowners will be notified and informed as to how the replacement will affect them in addition to when the repairs might be scheduled.
Coun. Don Mitchell brought forward a question as to who is responsible for pavement restoration on streets once replacement is completed, specifically in regards to High Street.
Associated Engineers has those costs included in their contract and will subcontract the work this spring, given that work on High Street wasn’t completed until late in the season. Outstanding repaving from Phase II will be carried over into the new year and will be A.E.’s responsibility. Coun. Dawn Luhning requested details of related upcoming work on the Manitoba St. corridor, specifically in front of the SLGA and Bank of Montreal. The work is expected to be extensive and will include water, storm sewer, sanitary sewer and bridge replacement, removing parts of the street from transit for extended periods of time.
As is the case with homeowners in other areas of the city, businesses will receive information in regards to the work and how it will affect them in mid- to late-Feb- ruary. Work will begin at a later date. •••••
The ongoing situation with SaskPower and damaged streetlights appeared to reach a final denouement as city council opted to maintain the status quo when it comes to the current service contract. Concerns were raised in late 2017 in regards to the number of streetlights that were currently out across the city and the danger that was presenting to residents. At that time, questions were raised as to whether or not the amount the City was paying SaskPower to service and maintain the lights was justified, leading to much discussion on the subject. However, SaskPower has since been able to step up their repair efforts, with many high-problem areas now restored and further work ongoing.
“I can’t help but notice that (after the is- sue was raised), the street lights that were out on Ninth were fixed the next day,” said Coun. Brian Swanson. “That goes for some other street lights. I guess the squeaky wheel gets the light. But it’s far from complete. South Hill is not done and the intersection of Coteau and Fourth has a street light out, but it has generated a lot of response from SaskPower.” Swanson had earlier recommended that the city have an individual monitor lights on main thoroughfares in order to keep SaskPower abreast of the situation. That request not granted, with city manager Matt Noble saying that further clarifying his request and referring it back to executive committee would further the discussion.
SaskPower currently has one person on repair during the day and two on patrol during the evening, with wind events and other issues affecting the amount of work on a day-to-day basis. Over 100 lights — out of 4,500 across the city – have been replaced in the last month alone.
And the problem is constantly ongoing. “There are three people working on street lights, and they can fix one and drive away and three more behind that they just fixed are down,” said city manager Matt Noble. “It’s a constant monitoring and work on these lights.... SaskPower has admitted there’s poor wiring, it’s old, and anything can cause an outage. There can be a gust of wind or a truck rumble by and they think they’ve repaired it.”
The report and recommendation of maintaining the status quo was adopted, with Swanson and Luhning opposed.
Next regular meeting of city council will be Jan. 22.