Council to discuss $23-M capital budget

Automated garbage, King George V turf and Victoria Park among 2018 spending plan

Automated garbage collection, the completion of Phase 1 of the Victoria Park revitalization and some changes at Quidi Vidi Lake will be discussed on Wednesday as part of the city’s 2018 capital budget.

The city has allocated $1.5 million toward the program in 2018. Phase 1 of the Victoria Park revitalization program is earmarked for $1.2 million in spending this year. Another $600,000 has been recommended by staff for a “notional amount to be set aside.”

Another $300,000 will be spent on transportation studies around the city, along with $110,000 for the city’s share of the review of Metrobus.

Finance lead Coun. Dave Lane says the city has $23 million in spending lined up for this year, the majority of which has already been decided through previous budget cycles. He says Wednesday will give council a chance to talk about the upcoming projects.

The city has also set aside $2 million for upgrades at Quidi Vidi Lake, as the Regatta committee prepares for the 200th running of the Royal St. John’s Regatta. City staff are working out exactly what the projects will be.

“The scope of that is still very much in development. We’re waiting until we know what that project will be, before we know how much we’re going to spend,” said Lane.

Potential projects include upgrades to the winner’s circle and wharf upgrades.

Other recommendations for potential capital works projects this year include $900,000 for upgrades to the King George V soccer pitch’s turf, $1.5 million for storm sewer upgrades at Cumberland Crescent and $1 million for storm water diversion near Yellow Marsh.

Lane says while the full list of projects has been more or less decided, there is still time for public commentary.

“Much of this has already been approved and discussed. A lot of it does come from staff recommendations because it’s infrastructure that we need to do and they’re the ones who know the issues,” said Lane.

“If we said to the public, ‘Should we replace this or that water main,’ it’s a challenging discussion. What I’m trying to do this year is get more information out about the capital budget.”

While 2018 is the last year for the current three-year budget cycle, which restricts public input, Lane says public engagement will be a priority looking to the next budget cycle.

“We’re going to have a lot of engagement around the budget as a whole for the next three years — capital budget is a part of that,” he said.