Paradise moving gas tax to finish Kenmount Road

By Mark Squibb

Paradise council is looking to allocate gas tax money to finish the upgrades on Kenmount Road.
This spring, council approved sweeping upgrades to the street which connects to McNamara Drive and onto Donovan’s Industrial Park. The work includes installation of storm, sewer, curb, and gutter, as well as the addition of a third median turning lane, sidewalk, and multi-purpose trail, at a cost of $2.8 million.
Initially the upgrades were to encompass Kenmount Road from the McNamara Drive intersection to approximately civic address number 1250. However in June council approved a motion to allocate surplus funding in the amount of $535,145, HST included, to extend water and sewer services to the access road between 1286 and 1296 Kenmount Road.
Staff recently learned, however, that the cost to extend the work exceeds the funding surplus by $96,113, plus HST.
Staff considered cost saving measures such as cutting sidewalks and landscaping from the contract, but instead recommended council move gas tax funding to the Kenmount Road project.
Council briefly discussed the motion during the July 22 committee of the whole meeting and moved it to be approved at a later public council meeting.