Although it hasn’t always felt like spring over the last few weeks, some very spring-like activities are happening around Radium Hot Springs. Many thanks to the event co-ordinators and volunteers who put together a very successful Easter Egg Hunt in the Park — we hope to make this an annual event.
If you haven’t been to Radium lately, it would be well worth your while to come and take a stroll past the Rotary Community Gardens behind the Parks Canada offices (the old school).
As reported in last week’s Valley Echo, this is a collaboration of many funders, volunteers, Rotarians and local contractors.
Less glamorous but fundamental to the running of our Village, are the Public Works projects which are occurring right now:
• A water main repair project to replace approximately 500 metres of ductile iron pipe with plastic pipe at an estimated cost of $200,000. The iron pipe was originally installed in 1982. This work was identified as necessary as we have been having corrosion problems resulting in leaks, due to electrolysis where the pipe passes through moist areas.
• The Whiskey Jack sewer pump station is another project currently underway. This is replacing an aging asset and the project value is approximately $300,000.
• There are rumours floating around about our water metering project. These meters will independently monitor water flows to four separate areas of the municipality. The objective is to improve our information of water flows to assist in management of the water distribution system (ie. water capacity for future growth, fire flows and leak detection). This is a $200,000 project. We are not metering residential households!
• In January 2015, we received the Road Capital Investment Plan that had been contracted to Urban Systems to complete. We learned that of the 17 kilometres of roadways in the Village (approximately eight kilometres) do not require any work. Approximately six kilometres require crack sealing and minor patching. The remainder have more serious problems and require overlays or reconstruction. Therefore, we are proceeding with year one of a six-year roadway capital investment plan totalling $714,000 in estimated expenditures.
Other 2015 projects include:
• The new public works garage/storage/workshop.
• Replacement of aging water reservoir pending notification of the Build Canada grant. The estimated replacement cost is $1.2 million.
Clara Reinhardt is the mayor of the Village of Radium Hot Springs and a Regional District of East Kootenay director for the Columbia Valley.