Town of Drumheller council approved the 2022 Capital Budget of $10.74 million comprising of a total of 43 capital projects during the regular council meeting on Monday, January 24.
Along with the Capital Budget, Director of Corporate Services Mauricio Reyes also presented council with the 10-year capital plan, which outlines proposed capital projects through to 2031.
“In the next five years, the plan is to invest roughly around $10 million each year; those amounts, of course, are subject to change,” Mr. Reyes explained to council during the meeting.
Included in the 43 capital projects for 2022 are some $2.16 million in projects which will coincide with ongoing work for the Drumheller Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office (DRFMO).
Although Flood Mitigation projects are not included in the capital budget, these projects-including $1.5 million in utility work at the Michichi Creek sanitation crossing, and $600,000 in upgrades and improvements to both the Centennial Park and Newcastle recreation areas-will be completed in conjunction with ongoing Flood Mitigation projects.
“Improving municipal infrastructure in conjunction with flood mitigation construction is efficient and will offer significant cost-savings,” Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett explained in a press release from the town. “Once ground is open for berm construction, we can upgrade an out-dated sanitary crossing (at Michichi Creek) at the same time instead of opening up the earth at a later date. This will save us dollars in the future.”
A total of some $7.64 million will be spent on infrastructure replacements, $1.14 million in new assets, $950,000 in machine and equipment replacements, $880,000 in facility upgrades and renovations, and $130,000 in other expenditures.
These capital expenses will be funded through some $2.47 million in ongoing and one-time grants, $750,000 in tax supported borrowing and an additional $3.4 million in utility supported borrowing, along with a total of $4.12 million from both tax and utility supported municipal reserves.
Budget deliberations for the 2022 Operating Budget will be held at a future council meeting.
