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'A lot of work to do' on city buildings

City council approved the recommendations of a staff report, prepared by the city finance department, in regards to maintenance of city buildings and other assets at its meeting Monday. The report recommended council spend $2.

City council approved the recommendations of a staff report, prepared by the city finance department, in regards to maintenance of city buildings and other assets at its meeting Monday.

The report recommended council spend $2.7 million a year for the next 10 years to keep up with maintenance costs in an asset management plan.

Assets include city buildings, sewage treatment plants and pumping stations, stormwater management, bridges, roads, storm and sanitary sewers, the city’s vehicle fleet and equipment.

Municipalities are required to draw up an asset management plan to determine whether provincial funding is available for new projects.

Bill Freiburger, city commissioner of finance and treasurer, recommended $1,167,630 from retired debenture debt charges from the F.J. Davey Home, which expired at the end of 2014, along with another $693,000 of the retired hospital levy, be spent on the asset management plan.

Freiburger also recommended $431,580 of casino revenue be put towards the plan.

None of those moves would increase the 2015 levy, but Freiburger recommended an additional $407,790 be added to the 2016 levy to reach the annual $2.7 million target.

The plan’s implementation would not affect the $12 million the city currently dedicates, on an annual basis, to road work.

The plan, designed to be updated every three years, was developed by Jacob Bruzas, the city finance department’s manager of audits and capital planning.

It was recommended a Facilities Asset Management Staff Committee be formed, under the direction of Bruzas, and report to the Senior Management Team in regards to the plan, taking into account concerns brought forward by various Joint Health and Safety committees.

The plan stemmed from an analysis of city-owned buildings, presented to council by the firm Morrison Hershfield in April 2014, which identified $26.7 million in asset maintenance costs which urgently need to be addressed by the city.

The Hershfield report examined the condition of 27 municipal buildings in 2013.

Of those, the Civic Centre itself, along with municipally-operated daycare centres, the public works administration building on Sackville Road, the main fire hall on Tancred Street, the city transit bus depot and terminal, the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service building, and others, were found to be in only ‘fair’ condition.

The Civic Centre was identified as the top priority in terms of need for repair over the next 10 years.

25 percent of the city’s buildings are between 21 to 30 years old, 22 percent are between 31 to 40 years old and 17 percent are over 41 years old.

Much of council's discussion Monday, however, shifted to roads.

Mayor Christian Provenzano asked Don Elliott, city director of engineering services, why so many of the Sault's roads are in rough shape.

"We're putting band aids on (secondary) streets…the main arteries are in pretty good shape," Elliott said, stating the city will continue to "chip away" at resurfacing city streets.

Elliott said the city went through a period of unprecedented growth and prosperity after the Second World War, resulting in a greater number of roads built, and the city able to maintain those roads in those prosperous postwar days, but that the city now faces a much different economy.

Ward One Councillor Paul Christian asked Elliott if it would be possible for all Northern Ontario communities, which are hit with more severe, road-punishing winter weather than their southern counterparts, to band together and speak with one voice in requesting additional road maintenance funding from the province.

Elliott replied all Northern municipalities find themselves in the same position in regards to roads, with no other existing provincial funding mechanisms in place for road maintenance.

Ward 5 Councillor Frank Fata said "we've spent $200,000 on building a second sidewalk in three locations…money that didn't have to be spent."

"Priorities have to change…we've got to find $2.7 million a year," Fata told council.

Ward 2 Councillor Terry Sheehan, in light of the cost involved with asset management, said "we're not going to solve this tonight, but we've got a lot of work to do…we must be strategic."

 


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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