Some councillors are raising concerns over a $21.5-million borrowing bylaw for the ongoing Villeneuve Road reconstruction project, which passed first reading during the Feb. 7 city council meeting.
Work on Villeneuve Road, which is being completed in phases, got underway last year as a roundabout was constructed at the Dennison Drive and Jensen Gate crossing, although this phase was funded as part of the 2022 budget.
The $21.5 million the city is looking to borrow will cover the next three sections of work on Villeneuve Road, but it won't fund the full scope of the project, according to a council backgrounder prepared by city finance manager Brenda Barclay.
The project was approved as part of the 2023 budget with an estimated cost of about $17 million, but the city is looking to borrow $21.5 million to account for a 25 per cent contingency.
"My position on it is still consistent with where I was during budget deliberations and that is, is it really necessary at this time to spend that kind of money on a road?" Coun. Mike Killick said in an interview.
During 2023 budget deliberations last December, a motion put forward by Killick was defeated by majority vote that sought to defer the project until 2024 and 2025.
Killick said council will debate the project and the borrowing bylaw in more detail during the second and third readings.
Coun. Sheena Hughes says she'd like council to take a "sober second look" at the project before passing the borrowing bylaw, as she has concerns about the city's long-term debt due to other debt-funded projects expected to come to council this year.
"One of the priorities for this council is to get the Lakeview Business District having servicing completed, and that's 10s of millions of dollars if council chooses to actually make that happen," Hughes said in an interview.
The Lakeview Business District is a currently non-serviced portion of land covered under the West ASP which is partially owned by the city.
"This is not a small undertaking," Hughes said. "Personally, I'd like to see what all the debt load is going to be that we're agreeing to this year, and then see if Villeneuve Road is still a priority to get done at this point."
Villeneuve Road is being rebuilt to accommodate ongoing residential development in the area as the road has largely remained unchanged as a secondary highway since it was first constructed.
The next two phases of the project, Barclay wrote, are anticipated to be completed this year, including reconstruction of the roadway between Dennison Drive and the Walmart parking lot access point, and insertion of street lights, a multi-use trail parallel to the road, utilities, and landscaping along the section of road. The second phase will see a roundabout constructed at the Hogan Road intersection of Villeneuve Road.
The Hogan Road roundabout is anticipated to be front-ended by Strata Developments, the developer building the Nouveau neighbourhood located on the northwest parcel of land at the Hogan and Villeneuve Road intersection, but this cost is included in the scope of the borrowing amount, according to the city.
The last phase of the project covered under the borrowing amount — inserting street lights, sidewalks, landscaping, utilities, and a multi-use trail along the roadway between Hogan Road and Dennison Drive — isn't expected to be completed until 2025.
"Additional scope, beyond this funding from the borrowing bylaw, will be required for completion with a 'Phase 3,'" the backgrounder says. "Phase 3 has not been designed and is subject to results of land use decisions for the city’s Badger Lands, so as to inform on servicing needs and network connectivity requirements."
"Funding is not currently requested (not part of scope within this borrowing bylaw) for this stage of work and will require funding first towards design to better develop construction estimates."
The city was previously eyeing the Badger Lands for the solar-farm project before council voted not to follow through on it last September. The Badger Lands are included in the area covered under the West Area Structure Plan (ASP), which council is expected to finalize this spring.
Council discussion during first reading was limited to Hughes asking administration to bring forward an estimated long-term debt load that includes future planned borrowing-funded projects, such as servicing Lakeview Business District, before council completes second and third reading.
With first reading now complete, the city is required under the Municipal Government Act to advertise the bylaw before beginning a 15 day petition period, during which a resident could gather signatures from 10 per cent of St. Albert's eligible voting population to oppose the bylaw. If a petition is not presented, council will proceed to give the borrowing bylaw a second and third reading.
Second and third reading is tentatively scheduled for the April 18 council meeting.
