Bradford West Gwillimbury didn’t have to look too far to find a new home for the snow it plows off the streets and sidewalks, but it will wait until the fall to see if it can find the money to build it.
A plan from staff to create a new operational snow disposal facility just east of the wastewater treatment plant at 225 Dissette St., was presented during the April 4 council meeting. Detailed design of the new facility is estimated at $327,000, to be funded through the town’s capital replacement reserve.
Construction of the facility — estimated at approximately $1.864 million — is currently not part of the town’s long-term capital budget plan. Staff had hoped to have the project considered during the 2023 budget deliberations, but the accompanying report which determined the land adjacent to the wastewater facility had not yet been completed.
That means other projects would have to be delayed in order for this to move forward, said Terry Forhan, the town's director of community services.
“There is a bit of a strain on (the capital) reserve at this time,” he acknowledged “We want to get moving on this (but) it would push other projects.”
That gave Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu pause.
“Right now, $372,000 is lots of money,” he said. “And knowing that it’s going to push other projects… I’m not prepared to support that.”
Mayor James Leduc argued it's an essential town service to clear away the accumulated snow, especially in the downtown core, but given that the project wasn’t part of the 2023 budget, he recommended pushing it to the 2024 budget.
He suggested the town’s newest committee should have a chance to look at the current proposal and determine if there are any options the town could utilize that might not come with such a hefty price tag.
“Let’s see if the Green Initiatives Committee can come up with some concepts, ideas, thoughts,” he said. “We just started this committee and I want to see what we can do.”
The mayor’s amendment was supported by the remainder of council, except for Coun. Peter Ferragine. Ferragine liked much of what was being proposed by staff, but ultimately felt the entire report was finding its way to council for discussion too soon.
In theory, there were positives to the plan, Ferragine said.
“In the area where they want to put it, the runoff of the snow is going to be separated; you’re not going to have it going to our fresh water,” Ferragine said. “We’re constantly talking about our lakes and how much salt and phosphorus, and such are getting into our lakes…. If we can start making a difference sooner rather than later, I’d like to see it.”
The town currently dumps its snow at 2244 Line 8, just east of Artesian Industrial Parkway and around the corner from the wastewater treatment plant. The 43 metres by 200 metres site can hold more than 11,000 cubic metres of snow but drains toward areas regulated by the Lake Simcoe Regional Conservation Authority (LSRCA), without any existing runoff controls or the ability to collect and separate contaminants that may end up in the snow from mixing into the surface drainage or water percolating into the ground.
Retrofitting the site to meet the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks’ guidelines on snow disposal and de-icing operations in Ontario was considered by staff, but it was soon determined that the current site is too small for the town’s growing snow removal needs.
That was another plus in the eyes of Ferragine.
“We’re definitely needing to put a lot more snow in certain areas because we’re getting so much more high-intensity building,” he said. “We have so much less space in subdivisions to have snow, so it needs to be removed.”
Earlier in the meeting, Ferragine suggested if the project had been brought to council during budget, he would have supported it at that time. However, when the vote came at the end, following discussion and the information shared by Forhan on some of the financial variables being faced, he didn’t raise his hand in favour.
Other sites considered were at the town operations yard on Line 11, adjacent to Joe Magani Park, and at Henderson Park on Line 9. The total cost for the Line 11 dump, including the detailed design, topped $3 million, while the Line 9 option was just more than $2 million, about $200,000 less, in total than the preferred site at the wastewater facility.
While the town is currently working with the LSRCA in the lead-up to the detailed design and construction, the approval of the conservation authority will be required before shovels go in the ground.
Council is anticipated to debate the 2024 budget in the fall.
