The historic Brunel Locks are in need of a little T.L.C. at a not-so-little price tag. The timbers that line the channel were installed almost 30 years ago and are now rotting, posing a potential hazard for boaters.
Colleen MacDonald, the Town’s Manager of Parks and Cemeteries, put forward three solutions at the November 30 General Committee meeting: replace the existing timbers with new timbers at a cost of $312,975 and a lifespan of 25 years; replace them with a longer-lasting segmental block system at a cost of $752,100 and a lifespan of 65 years; or close the operation of the Locks and make it a static display only.
MacDonald added that the Town has applied for a grant to offset the cost of the replacement by 50 per cent but the result of that application won’t be known until early 2017. The proposed repairs, if approved, would take place between September 2017 and May 2018.
Deputy Mayor Karin Terziano noted that there isn’t enough money in the parks reserve account to fund the more expensive option, even if a grant for 50 per cent of the cost is received. She directed a budget question to Julia McKenzie, the Town’s treasurer: “How far into the hole can we go or should we go before we are concerned?”
McKenzie replied that “in the council discretionary reserve, which includes all of our capital accounts, we have around five million dollars – the overall reserve balance isn’t in a hole it’s individual accounts that are in the hole. I think we need to make sure that we are putting enough money into those reserves to make sure we are funding them sustainably over the next 20 years and that might mean we need to relook at the plans next year during the budget process and maybe increase some of the money we are putting into those reserves to fund these projects.” The 2017 draft budget will be presented to council at a special General Committee meeting on January 9.
The cost of the replacement isn’t the only concern – Councillor Dan Armour wondered if one of the walls could collapse and “shut the whole thing down?”
“We started identifying in 2012 that we needed to start looking at replacement,” said MacDonald. “Each year the wood deteriorates a bit more. Could we have a collapse? We could. The retaining walls on either side, they do retain significant earth. On the east side there is a steep slope that goes up to a District road. The excavation to do the replacements is going to be a significant excavation – it’s a bit of a complicated project.”
Not willing to proceed without additional information, Councillor Jonathan Wiebe put forward a motion to defer the discussion until a future meeting once photos and details about the more expensive option are available. His fellow councillors agreed; the matter will return to council at a future date.
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Wow, that would be a shame to close the Brunel Lock to navigation. It’s a great trip to go to all 4 lakes and I’d miss having that ability.
Is there any new development at the Town Office?
If we decide to keep the locks open, I hope the council will look to the future and go with the longer lasting option. Too often we are making short-term decisions which at first may seem cheaper, but almost always end up costing a lot more in the future.