Rainbow Routes Association will have to wait for the city's budget to be finalized before it finds out whether it can proceed with plans to revamp the Lily Creek boardwalk.
Council opted to defer its decision on the fate of the Lily Creek boardwalk to the 2012 budget. Ward 5 Coun. Ron Dupuis tabled the motion. He said this decision belongs in budget deliberations, and that the city needs to set its priorities in terms of which capital projects to keep on the table for next year.
Science North, seen in the background, relinquished responsibility for the Lily Creek boardwalk last year, and another group has stepped up to fund a revitalization project. Council deferred the matter to the 2012 budget.
“Budget is where this should be discussed, and then we can look at all of our options and decide on what our priorities are,” Dupuis said. “It's very simple and very straightforward. This is an expenditure of about $40,000 plus ongoing maintenance of about $10,000, so by putting it in the budget, all of council can decide whether it will go forward, or put a stop to it.”
Rainbow Routes has offered to revitalize the boardwalk after Science North decided last year not to renew its licence with the city for the usage of a portion of the Lily Creek marshland. At that time, council voted down an option to spend in the area of $450,000 to replace the existing boardwalk and expand it to the James Jerome Sports Complex.
This year, the city hired R.V. Anderson Associates to conduct a structural review of the boardwalk, which identified the need to either replace the boardwalk or remove it completely. Immediate repairs are estimated to be between $30,000 and $40,000, which would extend the life of the boardwalk for the next two years.
This was one of three options presented to council Oct. 26.
Another option was to utilize a $35,000 commitment from Science North to cover the cost of immediate repairs with no cost to the City of Greater Sudbury, drew a nod from Ward 7 Coun. Dave Kilgour.
The third option involved letting Rainbow Routes assume responsibility of the boardwalk. Rainbow Routes currently has an application for a job creation project grant with the Ministry of Training, College and Universities and would include the restoration and upgrade of boardwalk in that project.
The city would be required to provide a maximum of $40,000 toward the project. Science North has also committed $35,000 toward immediate repairs of the boardwalk.
Rainbow Routes would remove about 120 metres of the existing boardwalk from its west end, including the bridge. The association would build a new 40-metre boardwalk to connect the remaining 150 metres to the sports complex. It would also refurbish the remaining eastern portion of the existing section of the boardwalk.
The decision that will be made during budget deliberations will depend on whether or not Rainbow Routes is successful in its funding application, councillors agreed.
Community Development general manager Catherine Matheson suggested the boardwalk project would be included in the city's capital budget, under the parks portfolio. The capital budget is currently being revised, and if the funds aren't found within the budget for the boardwalk, the project could very well push to the wayside another capital project.
Dupuis said if the city is able to find the money within the budget to cover the cost, then he has no problems with it. He isn't against the project as a whole, but if the choice came down to spending money on the boardwalk or road repairs, then council would need to get its priorities straight, he said.
The project is located in Ward 10, and Coun. Frances Caldarelli said she would be willing to commit a portion of her ward's Healthy Community Initiative Funds toward the project. She said there would be enough funds to cover half of the cost to the city, leaving the final bill at $20,000.
Posted by Mark Gentili
