(File photo/northeastNOW Staff).

By Aaron Schulze

Melfort and MEEP

Melfort Council approves water main replacement, four other projects for MEEP funding

May 29, 2020 | 3:23 PM

The City of Melfort is close to receiving its first piece going towards a massive project.

On Friday Melfort Council approved its agreement with the Government of Saskatchewan and its Municipal Economic Enhancement Program (MEEP); a program that’s part of the province’s $7.5 billion, two-year capital plan intended to assist Saskatchewan’s economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Melfort received $861,221 from MEEP and intends to disburse it over five projects.

Two of Melfort’s five items as part of the city’s MEEP funding request will be partially funded by the city’s 2021 Capital Budget (City of Melfort).

“These five different items were chosen because they’ve been a part of a capital wish list, and they’ve been on the capital agenda for some years,” Mayor Rick Lang said. “Our capital program exists because [council identifies] a number of projects that we would like to be done. Administration identifies whether they’re priority one or two.

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“When this $800,000 plus became available, administration went through the capital list and identified the things that were most relevant and needed… we’ve never been able to find the funding for it.”

Perhaps the biggest priority of the five items is the $228,800 set aside for water main replacement. The city applied for a $19 million grant from the Investing in Infrastructure Canada Program to replace 12.7 kilometres of water lines in Melfort. The city had 54 water main breaks in 2018 alone and has lost over $3.5 million due to unbilled water from 2000 to 2018.

Lang said the reason the 200 metres on Groat Drive was chosen is because it’s had seven water breaks in the previous four years.

“It’s not the inconvenience that dictates the severity of [water main choices], but after those particular water lines break a certain amount of times in the same place, it can create some water quality issues. That’s unacceptable,” he said.

The city approving the potential projects was the first step of receiving funding from MEEP. Lang said it’s up to the province to approve the city’s five items before they begin the tender process.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow