Stratford council briefs: City to get new transit bus wash system

At Monday night’s Stratford city council meeting, chief administrative officer Joan Thompson provided an update on the Grand Trunk renewal process, including recent public feedback that was received through 10 pop-up events and online. The ad hoc committee received 310 responses in total.

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Those responses indicated that 32 per cent of respondents identified creating a more sustainable and resilient community the top priority, 19 per cent wanted a dynamic and inclusive downtown, another 19 per cent wanted focus on a range of new housing, and 14 per cent expressed a preference for new community space. Regarding community spaces, 30 per cent of respondents favored recreational facilities like a pool, along with formal and informal community spaces, while 20 per cent preferred educational and learning experiences.

The next steps for the committee include granting public access to the site as has been done previously.

“As we’re working through the plans and the business case and the marketing details, we’re looking to activate the site so that the public can come into the space safely and certain activities can take place there while the next work is advancing, ”Thompson said.

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City to get new transit bus wash system

Council also unanimously approved the building of a new transit bus wash system. The contract was awarded to Westmatic Corporation at a cost of $413,874.93.

This will be funded through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program with $147,000 coming from the federal government, $122,487.75 from the province and the remaining $144,387 funded by the provincial gas tax that is transferred to the city each year. The system, which comes with a five-year warranty, is expected to last 20 years.

Stafford increased revenue from development charges

During the finance and labor relations committee led by Coun. Mark Hunter, it was revealed that they city collected $1,864,755 in development charges last year, which is an increase over the $1,556,868 it collected in 2022. Several projects were funded by the charges, including beginning the updated official plan review, transportation master plan and sanitary master plan.

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Council awards O’Loane trunk sanitary sewer extension consulting contract

Council awarded a contract to MTE Consultants Inc. for $272,992.63 for consulting services for the O’Loane trunk sanitary sewer extension from just south of Huron Street to Galt Road.

According to a report provided by council, two new phases of the O’Loane sewer project are proposed to support continued residential growth. The first phase would extend the trunk sewer from its current location 200 meters south of Huron Street to Galt Road. The second phase would extend the trunk sewer from Galt Road to Perth Line 36 (Quinlan Road).

The report states that if built it would support the immediate construction of approximately 900 residential units. The sewer would also provide immediate servicing for up to 2,000 units and the potential to serve up to 8,600 units in the north end of Stratford. The 2024 budget allocated $4.29 million for the first phase of construction that would be built in 2025 and 2026. It’s anticipated that the total cost of the project will be $15.3 million. An initial application to the provincial Housing Enabling Water System fund was unsuccessful, though staff are working on a second application.

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