NORTHEAST TOWN – The Northeast Town council got a glimpse of the first draft of the 2021 budget at its October 13 council meeting which, at first blush, will require an increase of 3.79 percent to the levy to make up a total budget of $5,038,332.16 for next year.
The draft capital budget plans are as follows:
Municipal office: Garage door ramp repairs, $5,700 (net cost to town); cemetery fencing, $3,196 (cemetery reserves).
Roads construction: Green Bay Road, dig out and rebuild, $50,000 (Gas Tax); Green Bush Road, gravel, $37,000 from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund [OCIF]).
Surface treatment: Green Bay Road, $40,000 (Gas Tax), Bay Estates Road, $40,000 (working capital reserve); Hayward Street, $25,000 ($21,000 OCIF, $4,000 working capital reserve).
Drains: Meredith Street drain, $60,000 (net cost to town).
Sidewalks: Draper Street, $105,000 (Gas Tax); Hardbargain Road, $108,000 (OCIF); downtown interlocking brick, $25,000 (net cost to town). (The Draper Street sidewalk was originally slated for the 2020 budget but was put on hold when the municipality thought the pandemic would cause a delay in the construction of the new Tim Hortons.)
Public works: Replacement of 2006 Case backhoe, $170,000 (working capital reserve); public works sand dome, $350,000 (contingent on grant).
Rec Centre: New ice plant, $392,000 (Municipal Modernization Program); air conditioner, $65,000 (Municipal Modernization Program); front walkway, $30,000 (contingent on grant); and painting curling club ice surface walls and tables, $20,000 ($10,000 curling club reserve, $10,000 net cost to town).
Parks: Baseball field A outfield fence, $20,000 ($10,000 contingent on grant, $10,000 contingent on donation from Little Current Lions Club); baseball field light heads, $30,000 ($15,000 contingent on grant, $15,000 contingent on donation from Little Current Lions Club); pump track (a playground for all things wheeled) and skateboard park upgrades, $150,000 (contingent on grant); creation of a running track at the soccer pitch, $30,000 (contingent on grant).
Centennial Museum of Sheguiandah: Entrance door replacement, $7,000 (net cost to town); purchase of one table and 20 chairs, $2,000 (net cost to town); permanent bathroom at museum park, $30,000 (net cost to town).
Library: Boiler, $10,000 (working capital reserve).
Spider Bay Marina: Pier 6 dock revitalization, $285,000 (contingent on grant); two yard head lights, $20,000 ($10,000 contingent on grant, $10,000 from Spider Bay reserve); replace washroom stalls, paint, lights and floors, $20,000 (Spider Bay reserve); hard surface road and parking area, improve drainage, $45,000 (Spider Bay reserve).
The total for 2021 capital projects comes in at $2,224,896, far below 2020’s record $10 million in capital projects.
