STEPHEN RICCIO
MUNICIPALITY OF PONTIAC Dec. 3, 2020
The Municipality of Pontiac announced a balanced budget for 2021 in the amount of $9,631,820 during a special council meeting on Dec. 3.
The budget total increased from $9,253,303 in 2020.
Residents were also provided with a look at the 2021-2023 three-year capital expenditure program during the meeting, which took place virtually on Zoom.
Resolutions to pass both the budget and the expenditure program were . . .
approved unanimously by the council.
Public works and safety
The biggest price tag laid out for 2021 will be the investment of $1 million to repair a 4 km stretch of chemin Tremblay in Luskville. Mayor Joanne Labadie said that it had been at the top of the municipality’s to-do list for several years now.
Repair work is scheduled for the section of chemin Bronson-Bryant that was washed out during the 2019 spring thaw. Labadie explained that the project would cost $200,000 in 2021 and $1.1 million in 2022, but that financial assistance would likely be provided by the Ministry of Public Security.
“For this year [we’ll] focus on the plans and specifications, including the environmental and hydraulic studies that will be required in order to submit a project to the Ministry of Public Security, who have indicated that they will probably compensate us about 75 per cent,” Labadie said during the meeting. “But until they see all the paperwork and all the studies, they will not commit.”
There are several other roads within the municipality’s extensive network that will require repairs in 2021 worth $100,000, including the areas of chemins Murray and Clarendon and chemins Steele and Hammond
In 2022, the municipality intends to invest an additional $900,000 on chemins Murray and Clarendon to complete the repairs.
Director General Pierre Said explained that the municipality is in need of a new fire truck for 2021, and $375,000 will be invested to buy a new one.
He said that another $300,000 will be spent on getting a new dump truck for the municipal vehicle fleet. In 2022, $1.2 million will be invested on the municipal garage. Additional investments of $220,000 and $400,000 will be made to the vehicle fleet in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The municipality will be using $200,000 of its working capital, which is separate from budgeted items, to carry out replacement and repair of various guardrails as well as several gravel roads that have already been identified.
An additional $65,000 will be taken from the working capital to implement the changing of street lights to LED, after the municipality went out to tender this year to get the lowest price. Labadie said that the light change will reduce related costs and will be better for the environment.
The Breckenridge Fire Station will be receiving an investment of $30,000 from the working capital to install a shower for firefighters to use upon returning from incidents.
Community life
One of the major announcements of the meeting was the planned expenditure on a splash pad for Quyon in 2021, which will be $112,000.
Labadie explained that the municipality received a grant for a splash pad in 2018 after having to invest 50 per cent of the value.
“The original plan was to put it in the area where the community centre currently is,” she said. “We had to do extra work to verify the proper location through the manufacturer and it was determined that having it in the floodplain would not be ideal.”
She said that its location will be behind the Quyon Library and that it will be installed next year.
Another major planned expense for 2021 is the investment of $500,000 on installing a boat ramp where chemin Tremblay meets the Ottawa River. Labadie said that a 2018 study determined it as the best location for a municipal boat ramp, but that work was delayed due to an austerity budget and COVID-19 over the past couple years.
Repairs to the Luskville ballpark that were aimed to be completed this year are being scheduled for 2021, costing $230,000 worth of grants from both the government and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Labadie said that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused residents to inquire about increased accessibility to leisure activities, including sports infrastructure and parks.
As a response to those requests, $70,000 will be taken from the 2021 working capital for sports infrastructure while $10,000 will be invested to improve parks and neighborhoods.
The community washrooms at the Luskville Community Centre are in need of replacement next year, and $25,000 is being put aside for that cause.
The municipality will be investing $300,000 from the TECQ 2019-2023, the provincial gas tax program, on a drinking water and wastewater project in 2021. Labadie explained that the goal of the investment is to bring potable water to the community centres, the library and the municipal hall.
2021 rate increase
One resident asked Labadie a question near the end of the meeting regarding the taxpayers rate increase for 2021.
Labadie said that the exact figure was not available yet and that it would be presented during the January council meeting, but she provided insight on what the municipality was aiming for.
“Barring any unforeseen expenses or disasters or anything that could change our fiscal projections … what we’re looking at is trying to keep the tax rate under two per cent,” she said.
