Sturgeon County councillors voted to delay putting in an application for the provincial Green Trip program that would help build a park and ride lot near Fort Saskatchewan.
Councillors approved a proposal that will instead see the county submit an application for provincial funding for the project in 2011 during a possible second round of funding.
The Green Trip program was announced in 2008 and was originally set to be a $2-billion fund that municipalities could tap into for major public transit projects.
In August, councillors approved having administration develop a business case for the project, which was brought before council on Tuesday. It indicated the total cost of the project would be $3.5 million.
The lot would be built just outside of Sturgeon County near the interchange of Highway 37 and Highway 15 and could be built to accommodate up to 1,000 vehicles.
If the county application to the Green Trip program was successful, the province would pick up two-thirds of the costs.
This project was being proposed as a joint partnership with the City of Fort Saskatchewan which would mean the county would be on the hook for half of the remaining approximately $1.1 million required to finish the lot.
The county would also be on the hook for roughly $280,000 in operating costs for the lot, which would also be shared with Fort Saskatchewan.
All of the proposed projects for the Green Trip program are being vetted through the Capital Region Board, which is drafting a priority list to the province on which transit projects are most important for the region as a whole.
The first draft of that list in September put the project as 14th overall on the regional priority list.
The total regional list has billion of dollars in proposed projects, not all of which could have been funded with the roughly $800 million the Edmonton area is expected to receive from the Green Trip fund. The park and ride’s placing was good enough for the project to be funded with that first $800 million.
The CRB is expected to finalize that list at its meeting on Friday so it can be sent to the province before the Nov. 30 deadline.
During Tuesday’s meeting Mayor Don Rigney said he was worried the provincial money could be tempting the county into trying to fund a project it did not need.
“My concern is this is not being driven by logic and need but by funding availability.”
Coun. Ken McGillis said it made sense to wait another year to better understand if there is really a need before the county starts looking at applying for a grant.
“I dread the thought that we have a whole lot of operating expenses every year for three guys that are using it.”
Peter Tarnawsy, the county’s manager of public services, said with the CRB recognizing the importance of the project there was a fair chance that there would still be an opportunity next year, but he also stressed they were taking a chance.
“It would be foolhardy for me to say that waiting for the second call would be without risk,” he told council.
Rigney said he was worried the grant would force them into action. The motion to delay applying for the project was approved with only Coun. Dave Kluthe voting against. He did not indicate during the council meeting what his objections were.
“If we do get the approval then it would seem to take on a life of its own.”
Fort Saskatchewan town council was set to vote on the same project at its meeting Tuesday night after the Gazette went to press.
