Friday, June 24, 2022

Will a Water Dam Update be on tap as part of Tuesday's State of the City Presentation?


 

Tuesday marks what will be the Final State of the City presentation from Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain, the larger stage of the Lester Centre, serving as the companion piece to the update that came to your mailbox with your tax bill, or that which is currently available online as part of the Annual Report just released by the City's communication office.

The Lester Centre Presentation set to be an epilogue to the Rupert 2030 Vision presentation of a few years ago and perhaps one which will provide for a check-list on how all of the proposed projects, initiatives and council vision planning from 2019 is coming along.

This week, Mayor Lee Brain provided a bit of a teaser message through his Social Media portal, with a hint of a Major announcement to be made at the gathering of June 28th.

We know Tuesday won't bring the announcement of his stepping aside from the mayoralty, that came in January, but perhaps he'll let the audience know what his next career path may be, as he prepares to take his leave of Municipal politics.

Outside of any immediate needs on infrastructure issues, there could be some thought heading into the final months of their term that an outgoing Mayor and Council perhaps should be holding back on any more major announcements on vision planning themes until a new elected collective is in place. 

Allowing the next Council to decide if that's the path ahead and allocation of municipal resources that have for their vision for governance. 

As for the work that the Mayor and Council have taken on during this term and the one previous, the Tuesday session should at least bring an update on something that has been a long running narrative for this Council since the first term for the Mayor and some of the current lineup of councillors.

The Woodworth Dam has been the signature piece for Mr. Brain since day one of his time in office, the subject of videos and occasional updates at one point, the information flow seemed to slow somewhat as it fell behind its original schedule in the last year or so.

The momentum for replacement of the pivotal piece of water infrastructure was inherited from the Jack Mussallem period of the mayoralty. 

However, the completion of the project, which will include an option for hydro generation at some point in the future (if allowed by provincial authorities), has had some delays along the way. 

The last update from  Operations Director Richard Pucci in March had the Grand Opening set for the Spring, but there has as of yet, been no formal announcement yet of the wrap to the eight years plus of planning and construction.


The most recent note on the project came by way of a short mention by Chief Financial Officer Corinne Bomben upon the release of the Annual Report, the document noting of its completion in the Spring of 2022. 

In an update on Capital projects byMs. Bomben on June 15th, the CFO spoke to the project with a caveat that the Dam project was 'finalizing'.

The Mayor may have been working out some of his talking points for Tuesday earlier this month, his address for the Graduates of Charles Hays Secondary made for a bit of a retrospective of his time in office, speaking of his vision to take office to Save the City, along with a few thoughts on infrastructure, the dam in particular got a mention that night.

The Mayor observing for those at the ceremony that the water supply "is almost fixed".

Infrastructure themes will loom large on Tuesday, those travelling to the Lester Centre from the west side perhaps will give some thought to those as they transit along McBride Street's expanded water line work, which will be a topic for Council at the final council session for June on Monday evening.

A potential update on the plans for the Prince Rupert Gateway, Waterfront Development, expanding Marina District and may others will mark the Mayor's Farewell to Municipal times on Tuesday.

The State of the City presentation one that most likely will chronicle some of the Mayor's successes, the ongoing challenges that he faced as Mayor and perhaps a snapshot as to how he views where the city is at, as he plans for his exit.  

Many of the projects that made for the Mayor's focus for eight years were launched as part of the Mayor's Redesign Rupert initiative

To refresh your memory on some of the topics of three years ago, see our archive that tracked a few of the elements of the Vision planning of the time, Mr. Brain will fill in the newest details on Tuesday at 7PM

As noted by the Mayor, those that can't attend the public gathering can follow along through the city's video options.

City Website

City of Prince Rupert Facebook page

More notes on the work of Council during the Mayor's time in office can be reviewed through our Council Discussion Archive page.

4 comments:

  1. Securing our water supply is City Council’s number one major infrastructure priority and showcases our commitment to Rebuild Prince Rupert. Lee Brain 2017

    The first thing we did upon being elected at the end of 2014 was begin to address our Water infrastructure. Lee Brain 2019

    In just 5 years we’ve obtained the grants necessary to conduct all three phases of our water project. Lee Brain 2019

    I ran for Mayor to fix the problems in our community - and this is exactly what we’re doing. Lee Brain 2019

    I'm simply just taking what we inherited and I'm just getting the stuff done. Lee Brain 2019

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    Replies
    1. Extra 10 million spent on the ability to generate power putting money into city coffers. Please explain when I can expect this 5 years, 10 years or twenty years. If this is the plan there should be an answer.

      The change in original plan also delayed job for redesign.

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  2. The city's idea of complete, finalizing, close to finishing can be a tad misleading. All these extended completions come with an extra cost the taxpayer absorbs. It doesn't seem to concern the city. It sure would be nice if a councilor asked the odd question on delays rather then praise the city.

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  3. Here are some questions, not sure what the answers will be.

    - How many boil water days did residents endure during this project?
    - How much did tax payers pay in water testing during this project?
    - Prince Rupert turned down Port Edward's offer for water due to the potential use of unsterilized containers by residents. Would you have a do over on that decision? Especially considering the fact that residents likely used unsterilized containers when they were spending money for their water at local businesses during the 300+ days of boil water advisories.

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