BOWDEN ñ Town council has voted to postpone discussion on drainage problems in the alley behind Reddi Mart to a later meeting.
Council has discussed the issue a couple of times, including with a resident who lives behind the store.
During its latest meeting, councillors mulled over a report from Tagish Engineering project manager Chad Carmichael, who listed two options.
One was to reconstruct the lane at an estimated cost of $82,000. The other was to rebuild the area of the lane affected (about 40 metres) and pave it to prevent further rutting and other drainage blockages. The cost of that option was estimated to be $45,403.
Mayor Robb Stuart said he didn't like either option, believing both to be too expensive.
"I think it's ridiculous we're paying $40,000 minimum for a couple of drains that have worked reasonably well, except for a lack of maintenance in the spring sometimes," he said.
Coun. Wayne Milaney, who runs a construction company and is overseeing construction of the new community hall in Bowden, agreed. He offered to have a contractor building sewer and water for the new hall examine the alley.
"It's not rocket science. It's just a culvert -- a vertical culvert -- and a pump to pump it out ñ with a float," he said, suggesting consultants don't like to give estimates that could later turn out to be too low.
At the suggestion of Coun. Earl Wilson, council agreed to postpone further discussion on the matter until a later council meeting, to allow time for the contractor to check out the situation.
"It's not rocket science. It's just a culvert -- a vertical culvert -- and a pump to pump it out ñ with a float."WAYNE MILANEY COUNCILLOR TOWN OF BOWDEN
