Mountain View County council has approved the 2017 projects budget totalling $25.9 million.
The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The budget is comprised of $23.8 million of capital projects and $2 million of operating projects.
The projects were presented by the departments of corporate services; planning and development; legislative, community and agricultural services; and operational services.
Operational Services projects include the following:
ï Re-chipping program -- $2,445,000 for the rechipping of 121.6 kilometres of roads in the county.
ï Subdivision re-chipping program totalling $120,000.
ï Asphalt long patching totalling $400,000.
ï Base stabilization on eight kilometres of road and for eight kilometres of basing and chipping totalling $600,000.
ï Re-gravelling program totalling $1,135,000.
ï Fallen weight testing of county roads totalling $255,000.
ï Westfork Estates subdivision improvements involving re-chipping and drainage improvements totalling $420,000.
ï Industrial subdivision paving totalling $1,315,000.
Projects put forward by the corporate services department include the following:
ï IT development -- $20,000 to address specific needs such as developing a full disaster recovering and business continuity plan, as well as bringing technology policy up to date.
ï Building asset evaluations -- $30,000 to evaluate existing building assets to determine replacement value and remaining usable life for county-owned buildings. The evaluations are needed to fulfil new municipal government act requirements.
ï Security upgrades -- $21,500 to make the administration building security system more functional.
ï Council chambers audiovisual upgrade -- $100,000 to upgrade the system to current technology.
Planning and Development Department projects include the following:
ï Eagle Valley area structure plan review -- $10,000 to update the plan, which is 19 years old. The budget dollars will be for community engagement purposes.
ï South Carstairs economic growth node area structure plan -- $80,000 for community engagement and the engineering consultancy fees.
Legislative, Community and Agricultural Services projects include the following:
ï Fire equipment grants to urban centres totalling $843,000.
ï Fire equipment for the Cremona Fire Department totalling $994,000.
ï Cremona Agriculture Society arena renovations -- $500,000 for renovations to the existing facility, including handicap accessibility, repairs to plumbing and heating, and a complete rebuild of the ice plant.
ï FCSS grant transfers to urban centres -- $212,500 in support of provincial and local initiatives under the FCSS program.
ï Alberta High School Rodeo Funding -- $75,000 in support of the May 26-28 rodeo in Olds.
ï 2017 agricultural service board tour -- $70,000 to support the July tour in Mountain View and Red Deer counties.
ï Business park signage -- $60,000 for new signage at the various county business parks.
ï Records management program and storage solution -- $150,000 to provide administration, council and the public with access to all records, physical and electronic.
ï STARS funding totalling $24,718, which is based on $2 per capita in the county.
A complete list of all projects approved is available on the county's website.
