CommunityCouncil

English explains exception for Moonlight Drive

By Mark Squibb | May 27, 2021

During the May 18 council meeting, Paradise council voted to reallocate funds remaining under the 2017-2020 multi-year capital works funding agreement to do upgrades to Moonlight Drive.

Previously, council had sought permission from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to reallocate the money, the total of which amounts to $559,033. The Town’s share of the cost is $152,085.

Councilor Alan English took a moment to address residents who may feel miffed that Moonlight Drive is receiving water and sewer despite being below their particular streets on the town’s priority list.

“As we all know, there are four streets that preceded Moonlight Drive on the Water and Sewer list, and council has applied for funding for those four streets, and in the event that those streets are not funded by the province and the federal government then council has committed to borrow funds in 2022 to do those four streets,” said English. “The urgency associated with Moonlight Drive has dictated that we move on that now. It’s not about jumping ahead of anyone. The intent is to address the four streets through provincial funding initially and through a loan if need be, and Moonlight Drive will get get done in a timelier manner because of the urgency. The last thing we want to do, as we all know, is to upgrade a street and then tear it up a year or two later to install water and sewer.”

Mayor Dan Bobbett said council had discussed the decision at length.

“Any time we divert from that list, we want to make sure it’s for a good reason,” said Bobbett. “And as councilor English said, in this case, the street is in dire need of repair, and we wouldn’t want to pave it and then have to dig it up again. So, this is the right approach.”

The motion passed unanimously.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *