Projects remain on track as Edmonton council approves capital budget

The City of Edmonton will move ahead with an updated 2019-22 capital budget presented to council this week, including new projects that were at risk of being set aside.

City council agreed on Tuesdayto the $9.6-billion updated plan, which it first approved in December.

The spring update includes a $2-million project to reduce the speed limit to 40 km/h in residential neighbourhoods and on Jasper Avenue and Whyte Avenue.

Coun. Jon Dziadyk put forward a motion to defer the speed limit change for a year to keep $1.5 million in cash flow for 2020.

Council rejected the motion 8 to 4, with Tony Caterina, Moe Banga and Mike Nickel siding with Dziadyk.

Council and mayor also rejected a bid to delay upgrades around city hall by one year.

Nickel suggested putting the civic precinct surface-renewal project on hold to save about $5 million in 2020.

The $12.7-million project includes upgrading the plaza surfaceon the north side of the building and rehabilitating the garden turf on the east side.

Installing a moreresilient, low-maintenance surface will help the areastandup to ongoing demands of festivals and seasonal events, the city said.

Nickel argued that putting the money aside for a year would be helpful.

"It's not to me an urgent profile," Nickel said. "If an emergency comes up, this is also money we can draw on."

The majority of councillors said wrapping up construction in Churchill Square would clear the way for festivals to return in spring and summer of 2021.

Coun. Scott McKeen said afteryears of construction inthe area, including the library renewal and Valley Line Southeast LRT, groups like the Downtown Business Association are eager to get it finished.

"They're sick and tired of construction, maybe understandably," McKeen said. "The sooner we can get construction done in that general area, the better."

Jason Meliefste, deputy manager of integrated infrastructure services, said the goal is to complete the civic precinct as soon as possible.

"We were trying to come in and get out while all the other work and disruptions were happening," Meliefste told council.

He said the city aims to finish the project by June 2021.

Very rigorous, very involved, very complicated

Come fall, council will likely have a different conversation.

Mayor Don Iveson called for a fresh look atprojects that could be cut or trimmed back to offset estimated shortfalls from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mayor's motion asked the city to analyze potential cuts while minimizing risk to critical assets like bridges.

The city may also look at facility closures.

Coun. Tim Cartmell suggested the city's analysis includeprojects funded by debt, which he noted costs the city $300 million a year for debt-service payments.

"I have real concerns about our capacity to pay come the second half of this year," he said.

Many homeowners and businesses are struggling to pay property taxes this year, he noted, and it could be mid-September before the city knows how much less tax revenue it will collect.

Cartmell said he expects council will have "a very rigorous, very involved, very complicated, very difficult analysis and discussion later this year."

"I'm not convinced that it's going to be over in a year or two," he said. "I can see this going on for a number of years, particularly if we get successive waves of COVID-19 and successive waves of economic interruption in what we have to do in reaction to those waves."

The city's finance team is expected to present a list of project and service priorities in November.

@natashariebe