Burlington Projects Targeted for $5.6M in Federal One-time Municipal Infrastructure Top-Up Funding
At our Committee of the Whole meeting on April 1, city staff presented committee members with a report suggesting the best projects to be funded by the recently announced one-time federal municipal infrastructure funding of $5.6 million.A chart outlining the suggested projects is available through this link: CM-7-19 Federal 2019 Gas Tax One-time Funding Appendix A; while the full staff report is also available for viewing here: CM-7-19 Federal 2019 Gas Tax One-time Funding.As part of the committee, we carried some amendments to the staff recommendation, including: funding investment for the Skyway Arena enhancements (option 2 listed in chart - new larger track and an additional community room) in the list of recommended projects, be increased to $1.5 million from $750,000 and reduce the investment recommended for New Street resurfacing (Appleby to Burloak) by $750,000, therefore reducing the investment from $2.8 million to $2.050 million.Here are the projects that committee agreed upon:
| DECISION CRITERIA | ||||||
| Capital Projects | Proposed Investment | Removed from 2019 Budget | Accelerated Infrastructure Renewal | Not funded or underfunded renewal in budget forecast | Not funded or underfunded new infrastructure in budget forecast | Estimated Delivery Timeframe |
| Elgin Promenade (Phase 4) | $700,000 | ♦ | ♦ | 12-18 months | ||
| Transit Bus Renewal Program | $500,000 | ♦ | ♦ | 12-18 months | ||
| Wolfe Island Bridge Additional Rehabilitation | $230,000 | ♦ | ♦ | 12-18 months | ||
| Advance New St Resurfacing from 2023 to 2020 (Appleby Line to Burloak Dr, Patrick Place) | $2.050 million | ♦ | 2 years | |||
| Beachway Pavilion Decking (accessibility improvements | $350,000 | ♦ | 12-18 months | |||
| Civic Square Additional Enhancements | $265,000 | ♦ | 12-18 months | |||
| Skyway Arena Enhancements (new larger track and additional community room) | $1.5 million | ♦ | 2-3 years | |||
This staff report/recommendation will head for final approval and ratification from Council on Tuesday, April 23.MY TAKE:This is prudent spending and reflects the majority of the items we heard from the community that they wanted. I want to thank our city staff because I know how difficult this was to pare down. This was a great job to balance known priorities in the community.