The City of Grand Forks will apply for a grant of up to $7 million to deal with its most pressing underground utility needs. Last week city council authorized an application to the UBCM Strategic Priorities fund.
According to a staff report, the application will focus on the most urgent work required along the Highway 3 corridor. The city will then weigh additional work along the highway against other “critical underground infrastructure replacement needs” in the downtown core and along the city’s primary sewer mains.
The $7 million the city is applying for is the maximum under the fund for any single project, but even if they are successful, it still won’t be enough. The staff report said the cost of replacing all water, sewer, and storm infrastructure under Highway 3 from North Fork Road to the Yale bridge is estimated at $11 million.
Councillor Rod Zielinski asked that council be involved in setting the priorities, but city manager Duncan Redfearn noted the application is due Sept. 12, before the next council meeting.
“We intend to write as generic and vague [a grant application] as possible,” he said, “but sometimes these grants want details and so we may have to put some detail in there.” He said they plan to work with an engineer and will circulate info to council.
The fund in question is a federal/provincial program to support major capital projects that is administered by the Union of BC Municipalities.
Other local governments are also submitting applications. The Regional District of Central Kootenay, for instance, is applying for up to $7 million toward the construction of a second ice sheet at the Castlegar rec complex.
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