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Cold Lake picks projects for ICIP

The City of Cold Lake has whittled down their list of priorities for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP).
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The City of Cold Lake is hoping residents will take the time to fill out their survey.

The City of Cold Lake has whittled down their list of priorities for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP).


With the deadline fast approaching, the City of Cold Lake agreed to submit a few projects for each of the three funding categories.


“The deadline to submit what the government is calling expressions of interest for the ICIP is coming up at the end of the month. The ICIP in Alberta will see about $3.4-billion in federal funding over the next 10 years,” explained strategic priorities manager Andrew Serba. “There are three funding streams that are currently accepting expressions of interest at the moment and that includes community, culture, and recreation, green infrastructure, and rural and northern communities infrastructure.”


The deadline is Aug. 1, and there is no limit to the number of expressions of interest a municipality can place.


With that in mind, Cold Lake will be pitching the purchase of a third transit bus or the development of the public works building for the public transportation and infrastructure funding.


When it comes to the community, culture, and recreation infrastructure grant, the city will be submitting further enhancements to Kinosoo Beach, a project that would cost about $3-million, upgrades to the information centre and Imperial Park with a price tag of $2.5-million, a staging area for the Iron Horse Trail costing $2-million, and adding camping to Imperial Park, which would come in at around $1-million.


In order for a project to qualify for financial assistance, it must include new, expanded, or renewed community centres or hubs, amateur sport, culture, and recreational installations, and facilities that are non-commercial in nature and are open to the public.


The federal government will be footing 40 per cent of the bill, with the province contributing 33.33 per cent. Municipal councils will be expected to pay 26.67 per cent of the cost. This was the same funding model used for the green infrastructure stream.


In this category, council will be looking for financial support for their wastewater treatment plant, a project that is expected to cost $50-million.


This caught the attention of Coun. Vicky Lefebvre, because in order to qualify for any grant funding under this umbrella, the city will be responsible for 26.67 per cent of the overall project.


“Where are we getting that money from?” she asked. 


CAO Kevin Nagoya explained that submitting their expression of interest doesn’t necessarily mean they have to pitch the whole project.


In the case of the wastewater treatment plant for example, he said, they could apply for the design.


“Because we don’t know what’s after the expression of interest, there might be an opportunity to get design funding,” he added. 


The city’s wastewater treatment plant isn’t currently up to federal standards. This could help them get their foot in the door in terms of funding, but it could also mean the city has a bit of leverage if the federal government comes knocking.


Nagoya explained if the government does decide to enforce legislation, Cold Lake could remind them they had applied for funding and were trying to get the ball rolling on upgrading the facility.


“Enhancements are probably going to be required in the near future,” he added.


The city have included a storm water outlet for Cold Lake First Nations, and a fisher pond in their submission.


The final stream is the rural and northern communities infrastructure. The federal government has agreed to cover half of the costs if an application is successful.


Council felt this was a great category for the CATSA commercial air service project, regional airport upgrades, and the Hwy. 28 twinning and enhancements.


The catch when determining which items to include, was ensuring they weren’t already on the go.


Nagoya said, “The projects can’t be active yet. You can’t be already in construction. You might be able to be in design, but it can’t be in construction. You would be disqualified.”

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