On November 12, Carleton Place committee members authorized staff to seek funding and prepare tender documents for the water and waste water plant expansions and upgrades that have been in the planning since 2022. Council will retain final approval of the tender and resulting bids.
“Back in 2022, when we were talking about the need for the expansion [the council of the day] all agreed that this was the course of action we wanted to take and should take, but that was at a number that is now as it’s been presented to us increased by 72 percent, so the story changes a little bit for me anyways,” said Mayor Toby Randell.
The cost of the expansion and upgrades to the water and wastewater treatment plants has ballooned from an initial estimate in 2022. Back then the estimate following the Environmental Assessment was $65 million, it is now $113 million give or take 10 percent.
The sticker shock according to Stantec is mostly the result of the jump in the Ontario Construction Price Index (up 50 percent since 2022) and to a lesser extent the replacement of aging equipment, some unforeseen plant conditions and a few add ons that are needed for greater efficiency.
The upgrades and expansions are necessary to relieve current constraints on the town’s water supply and to add sufficient capacity for expected growth. Sticker shock or not the town is in not in a position to cancel the project.
“Doing nothing is not an option, because we will be running out of capacity and we do have restrictions right now with regard to having emergency water supply in place. We are seeing inadequate fire protection reserves when the demand for water specially in the summer is high,” explained Guy Bourgon, director of Public Works.
According to staff and council, the final bill will eventually be paid by developers through Development Charges (DCs) that are currently under review.
“It’s developers who want to develop in Carleton Place who will pay for this. It’s not going to be on the backs of our residents,” clarified Councillor Mark Hinton.
Some of the cost is offset by a $35 million grant the town secured from the province for the project, but it is time sensitive and must be used within a prescribed timeline. The town also has healthy reserves set aside to pay for the upgrades without the need for debt financing. At the same time the current water rates generate a healthy surplus that is routinely added to reserves designed to accumulate so the town has the funds available to pay for underground infrastructure renewal once it reaches the end of it’s lifecycle.
“If development stopped tomorrow and we got not one dollar of DCs for the next 10 years, we can still service this loan. But what happens is when we do get that DC we can repay the reserves we’re borrowing this money from in full plus interest,” explained Trisa McConkey, town treasurer.
Meanwhile according to Stantec, the designs for the upgrades and expansion of the two plants use tried and true systems rather than “guinea pig trials” . Stantec assured council that they have been focused on cost effectiveness and the value of each process including life cycle cost and to that end have been repurposing existing infrastructure wherever possible.
“The design adds better reliability and functionality. We’re trying to design a Toyota, something that’s going to last, is reliable, and not a Cadillac, we’re not wasting dollars on fancy features that aren’t necessarily going to serve you” said Pascal Pitre, managing principal for water practice with Stantec.
The expansions will add enough capacity to allow the town to grow to a population of 25,000 by 2041 as per Lanark County projections.
Committee’s decision followed a detailed presentation by Stantec, the engineering consultants advising and providing the expertise for the design of the upgrades and expansions. A lengthy discussion ensued, although it was clear that most of the conversations between staff and committee members had already taken place prior to the Committee of the Whole meeting.
