This article was amended on Jan. 12, 2024, with updated information on funding for tree replacement.
Funding for a new Bond Head fire hall and the continued expansion of Henderson Park headline about $35 million in capital commitments tentatively approved by Bradford councillors earlier this week.
After two days of back-to-back budget deliberations on Tuesday and Wednesday, Bradford’s council has voted in favour of changes to the 2024 capital budget.
Other notable annual projects included $2.6 million for the development of Celebration Square on the library west lawn, and while the project isn’t expected to be complete before the end of 2024, community services director Terry Foran hopes construction will begin this year.
Also included was $1.47 million for a firefighter training compound at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Fire and Emergency Services Station No. 1, including a fenced area with storage containers and a large concrete pad. In addition to storage, the containers are expected to act as training aids, and the site is not intended to be used for live fires.
The budget also included nearly $16.1 million for ongoing projects needing more funding in 2024, including:
- $6.4 million for the second fire hall in Bond Head
- $4.5 million for the continued expansion of Henderson Park
- $2.24 million for Fred Cook Drive reconstruction
- $2.33 million for Luxury Avenue and Kulpin Avenue reconstruction
Another $9.5 million was originally included for the Holland Street revitalization, but since that project has been delayed beyond 2024, the money was taken out of this budget. However, funding will still be needed in future years.
Council also asked staff about the status of other ongoing projects that didn’t require new funding in 2024.
Joe Coleman, manager of transportation explained a new public works yard is planned for Bond Head, which could be shared by both transportation and parks departments and is set to feature a sand/salt dome.
The yard is expected to share a three-acre site near the water tower with the future fire station, and while the timeline for detailed designs for those projects wasn’t provided, funding was estimated to be needed for the yard in 2026.
Another example of staff looking to share facilities is a new snow disposal site, planned to be located on the town’s property at 225 Dissette St., behind the wastewater treatment plant.
Coleman explained the site is planned to use a concrete pad on which snow can be dumped after being removed from certain parking lots and the downtown area, with Foran adding that “a very complex storm pond system,” would be included to filter out garbage and other contaminants from the snow as it melts, before draining into the Holland River.
The budget included $380,000 for a detailed design planned to be done in 2024, with construction potentially beginning in 2025.
In response to concerns about the need for room to expand the wastewater treatment plant, Tony Desroches, manager of wastewater, explained the snow storage space wouldn’t be suitable for expanding the plant, so there should be no conflict.
Peter Loukes, director of development and engineering, also provided a brief update on the resurfacing planned for Line 8 between Sideroad 10 and Yonge Street, explaining staff were ready to go to tender in spring. However, depending on frost conditions and material availability, crews might only have one month to complete the project before July 1, when the County of Simcoe is expected to begin work on County Road 4 (Yonge Street) at Line 10.
That work is expected to result in Line 8 being used as a detour.
In addition to the new and ongoing individual projects, the capital budget also considers yearly efforts like replacing vehicles in the town’s fleet, as well as road, water and sewer repairs.
The 2024 capital budget included more than $19 million for annual projects including:
- $4.2 million for resurfacing of urban and rural roads, plus $936,000 for routine road maintenance, and $905,950 to maintain bridges and culverts,
- $1.55 million for new light and heavy duty trucks for the transportation department,
- $1 million for inspection and expansion of the John Fennell water reservoir, plus $114,000 for inspection and corrosion prevention of water pipes, and $200,000 for emergency repairs to water pipes
Matthew Simurda, the town’s asset management project manager, explained that the Multi-Year Roads and Related Assets Work Plan, presented to council in November, mistakenly listed reconstruction work on Line 9 from the railroad tracks to Scanlon Creek Conservation Area entrance as pending, but clarified the work was completed in conjunction with Artesian Industrial Parkway.
However, the funds were still needed in the budget for work on the next road in order of priority.
Simurda also clarified that emergency repair work on Line 8, between Sideroad 5 and County Road 27, was being monitored for reliability.
In his report on the plan from November, Simurda cautioned council that the typical one-per-cent increase to the special capital levy would not be enough to replenish the capital replacement reserve, based on the expected cost of capital projects in 2024.
In his report on the budget, finance director and treasurer Ian Goodfellow said that, without increasing the rate at which the levy grows, the capital replacement reserve would be depleted by 2025.
Set at 11 per cent for 2024, the special capital levy is valued at about $8.5 million.
Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott moved to increase the levy by more than one per cent, but found no seconder.
Scott, who had also tried to bolster reserves in August and June, suggested increasing the levy by 1.5 to two per cent, which would have bumped the total tax rate increase of 4.26 per cent to between 4.88 and 5.5 per cent, respectively.
In an interview after the meeting, Goodfellow explained a depleted capital replacement reserve would most likely lead to some projects scheduled for 2025 or 2026 being delayed by a year or two.
“The reality is we’ll have to revisit the capital program. If there’s no more money going in, we need to reduce the amount of money coming out,” he said.
Goodfellow cautioned that some unknowns could also impact the situation as the final numbers for the last quarter of 2023 are still being determined, some changes to the budget made during the meeting have not yet been fully calculated, and the extent to which the budget will be fully used in 2024 won’t be known until early 2025.
Those changes include the funds reduced for Holland Street as well as:
- Adding a bench to the trail near Aishford Road and Faris Street for $2,500
- Adding $70,000 for tree replacement
- Adding stormwater litter traps for $35,000
- Adding a leisure facilities renewal and replacement implementation plan for $55,000
- Funding the town’s mural program for $20,000 instead of the $30,000 requested
- Adding sidewalks to the north side of Line 7 extending west from Hearn Street for $70,000
- Reducing building fleet funding by $70,000
Due to the technicalities of the capital budget being implemented under Ontario government-mandated strong mayor powers, the document won't technically be approved for a few more weeks. More information about the ratification process, the draft operating budget and this year's proposed property tax increase can be found in our coverage here.
