DIDSBURY - During the recent regularly scheduled council meeting, councillors received a presentation from staff on proposed capital purchases for 2019.
Didsbury mayor Rhonda Hunter said the presentation went very well.
"Amanda Riley (chief financial officer) presented a very clear flow of the capital budget spreadsheet that included opening balances of available reserves, grant funding dollars, as well as available external funding sources," said Hunter.
"There was very positive feedback from council as to the ease of understanding of the presentation being made. Department managers were also very prepared with excellent presentations of their requests for the specific needs in their departments."
Some of the major capital items requested included: a new pumper truck to replace the current aging pumper truck at an estimated $775,000; a John Deere wheel loader for public works at an estimated $205,000; road upgrades and drainage for 20th Street from 15th Avenue to 17th Avenue for $800,000; roof upgrades for the Didsbury Arena at $225,000; and paving of 10th Street from Highway 582 to the bridge for $250,000.
Also on the list was a proposed new/upgraded library at $2,000,000. The funding sources for the library could be grants of $100,000 and external debt of $1,900,000.
Hunter told the Gazette that the library project has been identified as a priority for council since early in the year.
"There was discussion among council, as well as questions from the public who were present, regarding financing, the 2017 contracted design concept, and public input on the project," she said. "At this point it is a proposed capital item for 2020, with it also being proposed to allocate $100,000 from the 2019 BMTG (basic municipal transportation grant) to the project in the 2019 capital budget.
"There will, of course, be opportunity for public input as the project is more clearly identified."
