Castlegar council passes resolution on borrowing for phase one of sewage treatment upgrade

Initial borrowing approved

Photo: File

Funding for the first phase of the sewage treatment plant upgrade in Castlegar has been approved by city council.

A little bit will go a long way as the City of Castlegar is stepping up to borrow a little now in order to borrow a lot later on the Sewage Treatment Plant upgrade.

The borrowing of up to $975,000 has been approved by Castlegar city council — at its Feb. 2 regular meeting — for the purpose of works and services related to the North Train reinstatement project at the South Sewage Treatment Plant.

Funding needs to be in place to allow design of the upgrade to continue and the ordering of equipment with long lead times to proceed, said Steffan Klassen, city director of finance and technology, in his report to council.

The overall project requires debt financing, and the process to get electoral approval will take up to six months to complete, said Klassen.

However, in order to proceed with time sensitive expenditures, such as project planning and ordering parts with lead-times up 10 months prior to the electoral assent, the resolution allows interim borrowing.

“This allows the project to proceed on a timely and efficient basis,” said Klassen. “Upon completion of the Borrowing Bylaw, this short-term borrowing will be rescinded and consolidated into the long-term financing under the Loan Authorization Bylaw.”

At the March 31, 2025, regular meeting, the contract for the North Train renewal upgrades were awarded to Chandos Construction LP for a total value — including design and construction — of $6,871,000.

The project has two phases: pre-construction; and construction. Pre-construction work includes consulting, contractor services and advance ordering of equipment with long lead times.