Sturgeon Valley residents could start drinking from a super-sized reservoir as early as next month.
Construction of the expanded Allin Ridge reservoir is now almost complete, said Roger Borchert, the county's utilities project officer.
Work on the $6.3 million project started last April. When finished, contractor Chandos Construction will have doubled the reservoir's capacity to 10,000 cubic meters, providing the storage needed to support future growth and fire protection in the region.
Apart from the weather, work on the project has gone smoothly, with the new pump-house ready to go, Borchert said. They've filled and test-run the new reservoir cell (which is across the street from the current one), and have now drained it to install tarp-like baffles to direct water flows in it.
If the weather holds, Borchert said the reservoir should be finished by the end of January.
County council has inked a deal with a local developer to bring denser development to the Sturgeon Valley.
County council approved a memorandum of understanding with Beaverbrook Developments last week to let the company build 16 semi-detached homes in The Club & Residences of River's Gate development along Sturgeon Road.
A semi-detached home is two homes that share a wall. A duplex is two homes stacked on top of each other.
Beaverbrook is currently developing River's Gate as single homes on half-acre lots, council heard. In order to speed development, they want to put 16 semi-detached homes onto eight half-acre lots as a pilot project while paying half the per-lot levy rate. This amounts to a $463,464 credit.
In an interview, Beaverbrook vice-president Jodie Wacko said they asked for the levy credit as the county's current levy system charges on a per-lot rather than per-acre basis, which discourages denser development.
Beaverbrook's research suggests there are a lot of seniors and snowbirds in the valley region looking to downsize their homes without leaving the region, and that this kind of home could appeal to them, Wacko said. This will likely be the first semi-detached development in the valley if it's approved.
"We believe it will be very successful."
While he was initially concerned that the county could be leaving money on the table, Mayor Tom Flynn said in an interview that he was convinced the credit is negligible when you account for the extra servicing Beaverbrook has to do to build these homes. This also fits with the county and the Capital Region Board's plans to use land more efficiently.
"It's really to set up a pilot project to understand what the impacts of that (kind of development) are and to work through it," he said.
County officials will track the development's impacts on traffic, bylaw complaints, water use, the community and sales, a report to council suggests. County staffers believe the pilot will have minimal impact on local water, sewer and traffic loads.
Beaverbrook still has to do the engineering and get the zoning changed before it can start construction, Wacko said. Shovels would be in the ground by December at the earliest.
County council may soon ask business owners to buy licenses in order to help with the county's economic development.
Council referred a white paper on business licensing in the county to its economic development advisory board for review last week.
Coun. Susan Evans asked for the paper last December.
The county has a business directory now, but it's voluntary and has few participants, she said in an interview. That means the county often finds out that a home-based business has gone big too late to help them in that transition.
"We need tools to help us connect with our small and medium businesses."
The paper suggests that a licensing system could help the county spot companies looking to grow or leave, identify local problems and build business relations. The paper found that Strathcona and Lamont counties have had little success with voluntary business registration, and that mandatory licenses typically cost $50 to $100 a year.
Evans said she hopes to hear back from the advisory board in about six months.
