A $5,368 bill from Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) for railway crossing maintenance has caught the Town of Bowden off guard.
Crews from CP replaced wood crossing planks and railway crossing ties at the town's 17 Avenue crossing last year and also resurfaced the crossing ìto ensure that the crossing surface is level and provides a smooth ride for those local residents who cross it,î said Kevin Hrysak, a CP spokesman, in an email.
ìThe bill that was issued to the town of Bowden was for their portion of the expense to perform this work based on their cost sharing requirements for maintenance on that particular crossing.î
Andy Weiss, the town's chief administrative officer, told council at its Jan. 13 meeting that the town was ìnot pre-warnedî about having to pay for a portion of the repair work and therefore did not have a chance to budget for such costs.
Although council did not pass any motions relating to the invoice at the meeting, Mayor Robb Stuart said the town should not be on the hook for the maintenance costs and he planned to bring the surprise bill up with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
ìWe shouldn't have to pay for that,î he said.
Coun. Sheila Church said she was shocked CP issued such a bill since the company has not sought compensation from the town for such work before.
ìIt seems so arbitrary they can just all of a sudden, after a hundred years, do this,î she said.
Stuart also told council the Town of Innisfail received a similar surprise bill from CP last month.
Innisfail received two invoices totalling $162,100.38 in December for maintenance and repair work done at rail crossings on 50th Street and 49th Avenue undertaken this past summer and early fall.
Although CP told the town one of the invoices for roughly $75,000 was sent in error, the company is still asking Innisfail to pay $85,000.
When asked why CP is just now starting to bill for rail crossing maintenance work, Hrysak said the invoices sent to Bowden and Innisfail ìwere part of the cost sharing responsibilities for crossing maintenance as part of the Canadian Transportation Agency requirement.î
ìWe are dealing directly with Bowden and Innisfail on any concerns they may have in regards to these invoices,î he said.
The Canadian Transportation Agency was not able to provide information on the ìrequirementî Hrysak was referring to before press time.
Craig Teal, the Town of Innisfail's planning and operational services director, said the town has asked CP for information about the nature of the maintenance work undertaken at Innisfail's crossings, why the town is being asked to pay so much for the work and the process of how CP can better inform the town about its responsibility for any costs relating to rail crossing maintenance.
Innisfail, he added, does have an agreement with CP for rail crossing maintenance where the town pays $1,600 a month.
In the last 10 years, however, the town has never received an invoice for more than $18,000, Teal said.
The town is holding off on payment of the $85,000 invoice until CP responds and the company has indicated the town will not be penalized for a late payment while it looks for the information Innisfail has requested.
Teal said CP has stated it will get back to the town with the information in the near future.
The Town of Olds has not seen any invoices from CP for maintenance or repair work for the trio of rail crossings in Olds, said Norm McInnis, Olds' chief administrative officer.
The reason for that, he added is because the town and CP also have a maintenance agreement in place where the town buys any materials needed for railway crossing maintenance and CP pays for and carries out maintenance work.
Weiss said Bowden does not have any agreement with CP regarding rail crossing maintenance.
