Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Regular Council Meeting
Monday, May 29, 2023
Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and made some opening remarks, congratulating the Drumheller Valley Secondary School (DVSS) Class of 2023 who celebrated their commencement on Saturday, May 27 at the Badlands Amphitheatre, and Councillor Tom Zariski invited residents to celebrate the Drumheller Titans’ provincial championship on Friday, June 2 at the new downtown plaza.
***
Drumheller Resiliency and Flood Mitigation project director Deighen Blakely presented council with a request to award the downtown berm and Centennial Park upgrades tender.
The project was tendered earlier this spring due to changes to recent design changes to the project which will allow Riverside Drive to remain open to two-lane traffic with a reduced lane width. This project was previously tendered in 2022; however, it was cancelled due to bids which were above the engineer’s estimate, and design optimizations have since been made, which includes a retaining wall estimated at approximately 240 metres and upgrades to the Centennial Park area which were opted for by the Town due to the impact of berm construction on the area.
Two bids were received-from Wilco Contractors Southwest Inc., and Pidherney’s Inc. These bids both came in under the engineering pre-tender estimate of $9,142,132.50 excluding GST. There is some additional work to upgrade storm sewers at the intersection of Riverside Drive and 3 Avenue East. This was not originally included in the tender as surveying of the storm sewer facilities was not able to be completed over the winter and was not initially identified as part of the tender. An additional cost of $121,105 will be included in the bid for the lowest bidder.
It was recommended to award the contract to Wilco Contractors Southwest Inc., in the amount of $7,293,322.60 excluding GST due to their previous experience working on other local flood mitigation projects,including the Midland and Willow Estates berms, and their relevant landscaping construction experience.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early July, after the Canada Day long weekend activities, and completed by the end of November 2023 with landscaping to be completed by the end of 2023 to ensure Centennial Park is available for use to the public by 2024.
Council approved the award request.
***
Ms. Blakely also presented council with requests to begin the expropriation process on some properties where there is upcoming flood mitigation construction, proposed to begin in 2024. She noted some of this work will require regulatory approvals, which cannot be obtained until a certain point in the expropriation process; it was recommended to begin moving forward with the expropriation process to avoid delays due to the lengthy process required.
These properties are located in the Michichi Creek West berm area and the hospital berm extension. Negotiations began with the land owners in November 2022 and all offers at fair market value have so far been rejected.
Council approved the request to begin the process of expropriation on these parcels.
***
Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett presented council with a request to award a tender for construction work on the Stirling Ditch drainage ditch which runs north-south between properties along Hunter Drive in Nacmine. A drainage ditch is also located on 2 Avenue which runs east-west and discharges into Stirling Ditch; this ditch requires some minor work to ensure proper drainage.
This project was previously approved in the 2023 Capital budget.
He explained, although this project has come as an outgrowth of flood work, it is not eligible for funding through the flood mitigation program. The ditch has drifted out of its proper alignment, and it was determined during the tendering period a Water Act approval was required, which can take upwards of 10 months.
Two bids were received-from Kaon Infrastructure and Farm Boy Landscaping and Maintenance.
Council awarded the tender to Kaon Infrastructure in the amount of $348,591.97 excluding GST. Construction is anticipated to begin mid-June.
***
Mr. Brett also presented council with a request to consider passing a formal motion of approval for an Alberta Community Partnership Grant it had previously applied for.
He explained administration had applied for the Alberta Community Partnership program under the Intermunicipal Collaboration component and were successful in its application of $200,000. This grant would focus on a feasibility study to undertake a regional trail system along the newly acquired CN Rail line from Wayne to the hamlet of Rosebud in Wheatland County from a planning perspective. The Town would be the managing partner on the application, with Wheatland County in a supporting role.
One of the items part of the grant paperwork is to have a motion from council showing its support of the application.
Council approved the request.
Complete minutes from council meetings can be found on
www.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted.
