A St. Albert councillor wants to jump-start construction on Ray Gibbon Drive and thinks a public-private partnership, or P3, may be a way to do it.
Coun. Roger Lemieux plans to bring forward a motion May 2 to have the city explore options for funding the third stage of the road. He’ll push for council to have administration do a financial analysis and recommend a proposal that involves a P3 and/or borrowing. He’s hoping to have a recommendation before council by June 30.
“I’m definitely pushing to have Ray Gibbon Drive finished,” Lemieux said. “There’s no sense to having a road half finished. It doesn’t do anything for our future development.”
Lemieux said he hasn’t worked out all the details but his research suggests a P3 would be a cost-effective and risk-free way for the city to get the road done now rather than wait for the province to come through with a grant.
He said he’s spoken with firms that would be interested in building the road and providing the city with financing at 3.9 per cent over the long-term.
“Why it’s a good deal is … investment will get things done,” he said.
Lemieux is hoping to organize a session for P3 proponents to address council prior to the May 2 meeting, to improve council’s understanding of the workings of such partnerships.
Lemieux likes the concept because the city could specify the project but leave the tendering and oversight to a third party.
The city has completed two stages of Ray Gibbon Drive, which provides a direct link to Anthony Henday Drive from Giroux Road. The next stage will extend to Villeneuve Road.
In March council agreed to spend $17 million to buy the land necessary for stage three, which is projected to cost roughly $30 million to build.
Last year the province kicked in $14.3 million to cover costs of building the first two stages to highway standard. The city is still pushing for another $5.2 million to fully recoup its costs.
Mayor Nolan Crouse said he would keep an open mind regarding a P3 for the next stage. He noted he’s not an expert but feels P3s bring expediency but also have a profit factor built in.
“I’m open-minded,” Crouse said. “I do want to see us go forward with stage three so the P3 is an idea. I have a lot of questions.”
Coun. Cam MacKay said he has concerns about P3s but his final opinion will come down to the fine details of the specific arrangement that’s proposed for Ray Gibbon Drive.
“For Ray Gibbon in particular, I’m not sure that a P3 is the right fit,” MacKay said. “In general, P3s are over a long period of time because investors have to get their money back.”
He saluted Lemieux for trying to find options for getting the road on track.
“He’s really been a big champion of Ray Gibbon Drive and he’s trying to make it happen so I’m going to give him that chance and I’m certainly going to take a look,” MacKay said.
