4 projects discussed at West Lincoln’s committee meetings
The township of West Lincoln has a lot on their plate these days.
On Sept. 18, they held a public works, recreation, arena committee meeting, followed immediately by an administration, finance, and fire committee meeting.
Between the two meetings, totalling just over four hours, council members discussed a number of projects the town is embarking on.
Here are four things of note:
2024 BUDGET SCHEDULE
Council received staff’s proposed schedule for the 2024 budget process, with the all-committee meeting scheduled for Jan. 15, and the ratification meeting happening on Feb. 24.
While some councillors asked if the process could be done faster, staff stood by their recommended timeline.
EAST CHIPPAWA ROAD SLOPE FAILURE
Mike DiPaola, the township’s director of public works, asked councillors for the OK to immediately start repairing East Chippawa Road because of a slope failure. DiPaola said they became aware of the failure in 2020, and had construction money set out in the 2024 budget to repair it. However, DiPaola said this past spring the slope experienced another failure and moved up their schedule.
“If we wait till next year to do it, with the heavy rains and the erosion of the bank in the springtime, chances are it probably wouldn't last until the next spring. The road would fail,” he said. “Right now, the road's still stable, but we're pretty confident that the road would fail if we let it go one more year.”
Council unanimously approved the project, with a total projected cost of $345,000, funded from Development Charges and a $30,000 transfer from Capital Reserve.
PEDESTRIAN CROSSOVER
Township staff have been authorized to enter into a cross sharing agreement with the region regarding the construction of a pedestrian cross over on St. Catharine Street at Dennis Drive.
CROSSING GUARDS
During the conversation about the St. Catharine Street pedestrian crossover, Coun. Shelley Bradaric asked if a crossing guard would be needed in the area. Staff told her that they had determined already that one wouldn’t be warranted, but could look into it again in the future if needed, as part of a larger traffic study. Later in the meeting, Bradaric introduced her own motion to have staff look into addressing capacity issues the town has experienced with crossing guards. During the conversation, councillors learned that crossing guard shifts are typically between half an hour and 45 minutes long, and that’s what the guards are paid for. Coun. William Reilly suggested increasing their pay by rounding each shift up to an hour.
“They're already going to be there for at least an hour per visit,” he said. “Never mind the gas it takes to get there or however means they get there. I don't think that's a big ask”
The motion council passed in the end was that, once the Catherine Street crossing is completed, they would retain a consulting firm to complete a school crossing guard warrant, and that staff bring forward a report looking into increasing the budget for crossing guard pay.
Abby Green, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Grimsby Lincoln News
