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CITY OF VANCOUVER ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT |
Date: |
March 17, 2004 | |
Author: |
Doug Manarin | |
Phone No.: |
604.873.7283 | |
RTS No.: |
04045 | |
CC File No.: |
5768 | |
Meeting Date: |
April 6, 2004 |
TO: |
City Council |
FROM: |
General Manager of Engineering Services |
SUBJECT: |
Canada - B.C. Infrastructure Program |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council endorse the community-initiated project for the Christ Church Cathedral, for submission by the community organization to the Canada - B.C. Infrastructure Works Program, noting that such endorsement does not commit the City to funding the local share of the capital costs or to the ongoing operating costs.
B. THAT Council endorse the prioritized table of Green and Other Local Government Infrastructure Projects, for submission to the Canada - B.C. Infrastructure Works Program.
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The City Manager RECOMMENDS approval of recommendations A and B, and does not recommend ranking the Christ Church Cathedral project ahead of existing submissions that have direct budget implications for the City.
COUNCIL POLICY
In 1985, Council endorsed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) initiatives to take steps to halt the significant decline in the condition of infrastructure in urban areas, placing emphasis on maintenance and reconstruction as opposed to new construction, in partnership with senior governments.
In 1997, Council endorsed extending the 1993 Canada Infrastructure Works Program, reiterated that there should be municipal representation on the Management Committee and noted that the only priority should be for projects that replace existing, deteriorating municipal infrastructure.
PURPOSE
This report presents Council with an overview of the Canada - B.C. Infrastructure Program, recommends the endorsement of the application from the Christ Church Cathedral, and recommends the approval of the revised prioritized list of projects for submission to the program.
BACKGROUND
During the February 2000 throne speech, then Federal Finance Minister Paul Martin announced a 5 year Federal/Provincial/Municipal Infrastructure program. A total of $2.6 billion was committed to infrastructure renewal, to be matched by the Provinces and the Municipalities resulting in an equal 1/3 share. Of the $2.6 billion total, $600 million was allocated to the national highway program.
On October 10, 2000, the Province of British Columbia signed the Infrastructure Canada - B.C. Partnership Agreement. This agreement meant a total investment of potentially more than $800 million in British Columbia with each level of government contributing up to $268 million each.
The program was formally announced on January 19, 2001, with the Province's release of the program application kit.
The primary goal of the program is investment in "green" local government infrastructure such as water and waste-water systems, water management and capital expenditures to improve energy efficiency of public facilities. No less than 75% of the funding will be allocated to Green Local Government Infrastructure Projects while the remainder will be invested in Other Local Government Infrastructure priorities such as cultural and recreational facilities, infrastructure supporting tourism, rural and remote communications, high speed Internet access for public institutions, local transportation infrastructure, and affordable housing.
As well, 80% of the total funding will be allotted to Municipality driven projects. The remaining 20% will be available for Federal/Provincial projects. Therefore, if the awards are indeed based on population statistics as indicated, then Vancouver could qualify for nearly $30 million of Federal dollars resulting in a grand total of $90 million once matched by the Province and the City.
Under the guidelines all projects must be construction, renewal, expansion or material enhancement of infrastructure for the public's use or benefit. Applications can be sent in at any time and approvals will be made at set intervals, yet to be determined, until June 30, 2005. All funded projects must be completed by March 31, 2006.
The City has so far submitted or endorsed 41 projects, and so far nine (9) projects have received funding. The remaining unfunded projects are eligible for review in subsequent rounds. Those applications that received awards are as follows:
City Driven |
Total Cost |
Total Award |
China Creek - Canoe Creek Basin Sanitary Trunk Extension |
$9,300,000 |
$6,200,000 |
China Creek - Lower Canoe Creek Basin Sewer Separation |
$8,600,000 |
$5,730,000 |
China Creek - Upper Canoe Creek Basin Separation |
$9,500,000 |
$6,330,000 |
Sunset Community Centre |
$7,000,000 |
$4,000,000 |
Community Driven |
Total Cost |
Total Award |
Millennium Sport Facility |
$3,200,000 |
$1,700,000 |
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House |
$1,800,000 |
$1,220,000 |
Jewish Community Centre |
$1,295,000 |
$ 400,000 |
Vancouver Museum Phase 3 Capital Revitalization |
$3,000,000 |
$2,000,000 |
Science World |
$2,900,000 |
$1,600,000 |
DISCUSSION
The 116 year old Christ Church Cathedral is a Class A heritage building and is widely used for community, cultural, and civic events. The cathedral has undergone an extensive program of heritage restoration and renewal over the past year. The proposed project will be the final phase of construction that will complete necessary accessibility and seismic improvements. This will include the installation of an elevator linking the two floors of the cathedral, the construction of a wheel-chair accessible washroom on the main floor, and steel reinforcing of the building to improve the structural stability in the event of an earthquake. In 2002, Christ Church Cathedral received a heritage density bonus from the City for transfer off-site in exchange for interior restoration and designation. This amounted to 73,170 sq. ft. and was determined to be worth $1,829,250 at that time.
The Christ Church Cathedral project qualifies under the "Other" class of submissions for the infrastructure program. Staff recommend that Council endorse this project submission for this landmark building, but do not recommend ranking the project ahead of any City funded projects on the combined program ranking list.
The overall corporate submission to the program, which includes the previous applications from 2001 and 2003, has been laid out in the combined priority ranking table included in this report. These projects have previously been reported to Council. In each case, the total represents the total project cost. The "local" share of funding will be a minimum of 1/3 in all cases, although this does not necessarily involve City funding.
As required in the application process, all submitted Green and Other projects need to be ranked in order of preference by the municipality. As well, Community initiated projects need to be ranked with the City initiated projects within the appropriate category. These projects have been prioritized by a sub-group of the Capital Plan Committee; the same committee responsible for determining priorities pertaining to Capital Plan spending. Representatives from Corporate Services, Community Services, Engineering, Parks, Finance, Library and the City Manager's Office made up the committee for this assignment. The prioritization process was a combination of City capital funding priorities and the program priorities.
Engineering Services has recommended raising the priority of the Crown Street Sustainable Streetscape project (Musqueam Creek) to #6/42 from #8/42. This proposal furthers the City's sustainability objectives by promoting a green streetscape and the enhancement of Musqueam Creek to support an expanded environment for salmon. It is widely supported by a number of environmental groups and the Musqueam Band. There has been some interest in funding the project and a small adjustment in the priority (within the Engineering submissions) may assist the application. The Capital Plan Staff Review Group concurs with this revision, and recommends adopting the revised combined priority listing as presented in the table included in this report.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
For the Christ Church Cathedral project, the local share of the funding will be provided by the proponents without accessing City funding.
For many of the projects included in the lists above, funding is available in current capital budgets or in the 2003-2005 Capital Plan. For others, a reallocation of funding within the Capital Plan may be required, or funding will be provided by the proponents. In some cases, the $20 Million provisional borrowing authority may be required to make up the 1/3 municipal contribution.
CONCLUSION
If endorsed by Council, the Christ Church Cathedral proposal would be forwarded to the Province by the applicant.
If approved by Council, the revised combined project priority listing will be forwarded to the Province.
City of Vancouver - Green and Other Infrastructure Combined Priority Listing (Complete):
City Ranking |
Department or Community |
Description |
Type |
Total Project |
1/42 |
Engineering |
China Creek - Canoe Creek Basin Sanitary Trunk Extension |
G |
$9,300,000 |
2/42 |
Engineering |
China Creek - Lower Canoe Creek Basin Sewer Separation |
G |
$8,600,000 |
3/42 |
Engineering |
China Creek - Upper Canoe Creek Basin Sewer Separation |
G |
$9,500,000 |
4/42 |
Parks |
Sunset Community Centre |
O |
$7,000,000 |
5/42 |
Corp Services |
Gastown Museum |
O |
$4,000,000 |
* 6/42 |
Engineering |
Crown Street Sustainable Streetscape |
G |
$1,200,000 |
7/42 |
Engineering |
Upper Grandview-Woodlands area sanitary sewer Tie-in to Vernon Drive Forcemain |
G |
$3,000,000 |
8/42 |
Engineering |
Grandview-Woodlands Area Sewer Separation |
G |
$8,100,000 |
9/42 |
Engineering |
Stanley Park Water System Renewal |
G |
$7,500,000 |
10/42 |
Engineering |
Burrard Bridge Seismic Upgrade |
O |
$4,000,000 |
11/42 |
Engineering |
Broadway Corridor Reconstruction |
O |
$3,000,000 |
12/42 |
Community Applicant |
Little Mountain Neighbourhood House |
O |
$5,100,000 |
13/42 |
Community Applicant |
Vancouver Museum Phase 3 Capital Revitalization |
O |
$3,000,000 |
14/42 |
Community Applicant |
Millennium Sport Facility |
O |
$3,200,000 |
15/42 |
Engineering |
Highbury & 4th Avenue Sewer Separation |
G |
$8,200,000 |
16/42 |
Engineering |
North Balaclava Sewer Separation |
G |
$9,500,000 |
17/42 |
Engineering |
Landfill Gas Utilization |
G |
$2,000,000 |
18/42 |
Corp Services |
Boiler Plants Replacement |
G |
$1,480,325 |
19/42 |
Engineering |
Davie Street Sidewalks/Transit Facilities |
O |
$1,200,000 |
20/42 |
Engineering |
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) |
O |
$440,000 |
21/42 |
Engineering |
City Wide Cast Iron Watermain Replacement |
G |
$8,470,000 |
22/42 |
Engineering |
Trout Lake Storm Sewer Trunk Extension |
G |
$9,000,000 |
23/42 |
Engineering |
North Victoria Drive Sewer Separation |
G |
$6,500,000 |
24/42 |
Civic Theatres |
Queen Elizabeth Auditorium Renovation |
O |
$4,000,000 |
25/42 |
Engineering |
Kent Avenue Bicycle Route |
O |
$1,100,000 |
26/42 |
Engineering |
Corner Bulges near Vancouver Schools |
O |
$375,000 |
27/42 |
Parks |
Vandusen Botanical Garden Concept Plan Implementation |
O |
$3,000,000 |
28/42 |
Community Applicant |
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House |
O |
$1,800,000 |
29/42 |
Engineering |
Kits Pumping Station Tie-in to 8th Ave Interceptor Sewer |
G |
$2,300,000 |
30/42 |
Engineering |
Eastside Crosscut Greenway |
O |
$1,600,000 |
31/42 |
Parks |
Champlain Heights Community Centre |
O |
$1,300,000 |
32/42 |
Engineering |
Burrard Bridge - Pedestrian Improvements |
O |
$10,000,000 |
33/42 |
Community Applicant |
Science World |
O |
$2,900,000 |
34/42 |
Parks |
Playing Field Renewal |
O |
$3,000,000 |
35/42 |
Engineering |
Robson Street Pedestrian Enhancement |
O |
$1,000,000 |
36/42 |
Engineering |
Speed Humps on Vancouver Streets |
O |
$750,000 |
37/42 |
Community Applicant |
Jewish Community Centre - Fitness, Recreation and Rehabilitation Complex |
O |
$1,295,000 |
38/42 |
Engineering |
Chess Street Works Yard - Various Projects |
G |
$2,150,000 |
39/42 |
Engineering |
Dunbar Ridge Transmission Water Main |
G |
$4,950,000 |
40/42 |
Corp Services |
Chiller Plants Replacement |
G |
$763,250 |
41/42 |
Corp Services |
Roofing Systems Replacement |
G |
$2,267,000 |
** 42/42 |
Community Applicant |
Christ Church Cathedral - Elevator and Stairwell Installation |
O |
$849,550 |
Type: |
G -- Green Projects O -- Other Projects |
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Notes: |
* -- Existing Project with a change in Combined Priority List ranking |
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** -- New Project Added to Combined Priority List in 2004 |
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Projects in Bold Italics have been funded by the program |
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