The bylaws have been approved and the City of Maple Ridge is ready to borrow and build.
Tuesday, council approved eight borrowing bylaws that will allow the city to build new sports fields, parks and do some needed renos on its existing rec facilities.
The approval means up to $49.5 million can be borrowed, to be paid for with a property tax increase of .35 per cent for each of the next seven years. That will work out to another $60 a year by that seventh year for an average home.
But taxpayers may not end up paying that full amount.
Borrowing amounts for each project could be pared down if senior government grants or money from other accounts from within the city are found to help reduce costs.
“We have – the capacity – to borrow now,” said Coun. Gordy Robson.
“Although we have the permission to borrow $50 million, I doubt we’ll be doing that. I hope not.”
Maple Ridge held an alternative approval process earlier this year in which 10 per cent of voters had to sign their opposition to a project in order to force the city to reconsider.
But no project received the required amount of votes.
“It’s not like we’re going to borrow that money right away. That money will get borrowed as these projects get passed and approved by either this council, or the next council,” said Coun. Bob Masse.
Each project will have to go before council for final approval and work begins. The costs for each project are rough estimates, Masse pointed out.
“In general, this will enable all these project to go ahead and I think they will.”
However, costs, or the scope for each of the projects could climb, as well.
If that happens, other money from within the city would have to make up the difference in extra costs. In order to borrow more money, the city would have to go through another public approval process.
“There’s lots of decision points still on those items,” said Trevor Thompson, interim director of finance.
The projects that received the largest amount of opposition were the million dollars sought to build two small parks or gathering spots in Silver Valley, and the $23.5-million construction of a new arena at Planet Ice.
Each of those projects showed that 2.6 per cent of eligible voters were opposed.
The loan authorization bylaws that were passed will allow borrowing for the following projects:
• ice sheet addition at Planet Ice, $23.5 million;
• Albion community centre, $8.5 million;
• two artificial sports fields at Thomas Haney secondary, $7 million;
• part of the costs of renovations to Maple Ridge Leisure Centre, $3.5 million;
• Hammond Community Centre renovation, $2.5 million;
• Maple Ridge secondary track and field renovation, $2.5 million;
• Whonnock Lake renovation, $1 million;
• Silver Valley neighbourhood gathering places, $1 million.
The loan authorization bylaws will now be forwarded to the province for final approval, after which the city can borrow the money.
Council had considered putting an outdoor swimming pool proposed for next to Thomas Haney secondary on the list, but decided against that because it wanted more information. Costs for that could have reached $15 million.
The city has also started a public consultation process on building a new indoor aquatic centre somewhere in Maple Ridge.
Council also, last year, voted to remove a civic and cultural centre proposed for Memorial Peace Park from the recreation upgrade list.
The actual number of no votes that each recreation project received during the alternative approval process:
• Silver Valley neighbourhood gathering places, 1,508;
• ice sheet addition at Planet Ice, 1,501;
• Albion community centre, 1,331
• Whonnock Lake renovation, 1,320;
• Hammond Community Centre renovation, 1,254;
• Maple Ridge secondary track and field renovation, 1,244;
• two artificial sports fields at Thomas Haney secondary, 1,270;
• part of the costs of renovations to Maple Ridge Leisure Centre, 1,069.
