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Committee backs $5.6 million capital budget

A Fenwick library, flood relief for a Fonthill complex and a new fire truck sit in Pelham’s $5.6 million 2015 capital budget. Town council’s committee of the whole backed the budget Monday following a presentation by treasurer Cari Pupo.
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A Fenwick library, flood relief for a Fonthill complex and a new fire truck sit in Pelham’s $5.6 million 2015 capital budget.
Town council’s committee of the whole backed the budget Monday following a presentation by treasurer Cari Pupo.
In addition to requests from town departments, the capital budget, she said, is influenced by community input, pending development of East Fonthill lands, the town’s strategic plan and a five-year capital spending forecast.
“Expenditures for 2015 represent approximately 22% of the total five-year spending,” Pupo told councillors.
The budget originally set aside $75,000 for an architectural design of a new Maple Acre library branch. A $1.3 million reconstruction project would begin in 2016.
Coun. Peter Papp, however, made a motion to drop the architectural design, replace it with a design-build approach and move a $1 million library project into 2015.
“We know enough to go ahead with it,” he said about a local building plan process. It was used to construct the North Pelham fire hall.
A section of the current library branch would be torn down and replaced with a larger 4,000-square-foot addition. A historic 500-square-foot section would remain.
The fire department will replace a 24-year-old pumper truck with a $400,000 2015 pumper. It will also spend $20,000 for new bunker gear.
In response to appeals from Carriage Hill residents, water and sewer lines along Pelham Street from Shorthill Place to Hurricane Road will be replaced.
They made the request during a public meeting in December. Carriage Hill faces flooding at the housing complex.
Urban road reconstruction projects during 2015 will total $812,756 while rural ones $448,669. Bridge rehabilitations will come to $792,000.
A sanitary sewer line along Welland Road and a Deer Park easement will be replaced with a larger one for $820,000.
It is to accommodate increased flows from new construction, said public works director Alan Mannell.
In the parks and recreation department, the Rail Trail will be developed from Centre St. to Murdoch St. for $77,192. An active transportation master plan will be completed for $33,000. The town will resurface Centennial Park tennis courts. A cenotaph at Old Pelham Town Hall will be restored. Kunda Park subdivision will receive a $150,000 naturalized park for children to play with nature in a natural way.
The town will spend $88,000 to replace current baseball floodlighting over a skate park and a parking lot in Marlene Stewart Streit Park with normal lights.
Park neighbours and astronomy star-gazers complained about the unnecessary bright lighting now that the park no longer has a ball diamond.
The planning department will spend $71,000 for reviews and mapping of the Official Plan, the zoning bylaw, East Fenwick secondary plan and a heritage inventory and report.
Pupo said budgeting over the next five years will rebuild depleted reserves.
Major project funding requirements will be debentured to minimize impact on funds held in reserve to 2018, she said.
A multipurpose community centre, estimated at $28.4 million, is listed as a major capital investment in the five-year forecast.
Chief Administrative Officer Darren Ottaway said the estimate is on the high side and will be refined as planning for the centre progresses.
Mayor Dave Augustyn called this a smaller capital budget compared to previous ones with a need to rebuild reserves.
The $5.6 million capital budget will now go to a regular meeting of town council for final approval.