Sundre council has reduced the proposed 2014 capital budget by tens of thousands of dollars, including nixing $90,000 to build a new washhouse at Greenwood Campground.
The capital budget does not affect taxpayer money, according to Wanda Watson-Neufeld, the town's director of corporate services.
During the Dec. 2 council meeting, Coun. Tony Jordan claimed a motion was never passed to build a new washhouse. However, he said there is already dirt and lines to connect to water at a new location for the building.
Jordan was not impressed as he felt like administration was going ahead with building a new washhouse when council had not even approved it.
Also during the meeting, reserves related to the washhouse were decreased by $30,000 and insurance related to the washhouse was decreased by $60,000.
“This project is to be brought back to council when it is known what amount insurance will pay for a payout to allow the town to relocate the washhouse and improve it, rather than just replace the existing washhouse, which is on the flood plain,” states a report to council submitted by Wanda Watson-Neufeld, the town's director of corporate services.
The washhouse was damaged after there was overland flooding from the Red Deer River in Sundre in June.
The proposed 2014 capital budget is $3,958,980. Before the changes at the Dec. 2 meeting, it was proposed to be $4,078,980.
Also during the meeting, the facilities office redevelopment and site-to-site access project was deleted.
“That was for us to get Barracuda servers over at the town shop so that we can do engineered backup, so structured backup. And then also to restructure offices inside the town office, because this came forward from council,” said Watson-Neufeld.
The $30,000 that was proposed for the project from Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) capital provincial grant money was transferred to reserves for the roads and sidewalk from the downtown area to the west.
The 2013 capital budget was approved at $3,410,934.
