Road work contract let
LB Paving has been given the contract for this year’s District of Houston road and concrete works.
The company was the only bidder and its price of $671,490.12 for road and sidewalk/curb projects came with the $720,000 forecast estimate, reported engineering and operations director Paul Gordon.
This year’s work consists of pulverizing, rejuvenating and repaving large sections of Riverbank Road, Williams Crescent and Buck Flats Road, said Gordon.
The concrete work continues on that begun last year to remove and replace a block of club and sidewalk on Hagman Crescent.
Gordon did note the above projects do not include the District’s annual maintenance program for repairs to roads, sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
The total budget for the above maintenance amounts to $135,000 and a further report will be prepared for council soon.
Internal reallocation needed
The District has had to reallocate monies within several of its accounts to comply with requirements set out by an outside agency.
It had assigned $140,000 from gas tax monies received from the federal government to finance concept designs for a new firehall, a new community hall, and outdoor skating rink and a new arena lobby.
But it then found out that gas tax monies can’t be used for that purpose.
Instead, chief administrative officer Gerald Pinchbeck recommended using a large grant provided by the provincial government earlier this year because it has fewer restrictions on how it can be used.
In doing so, he recommended $140,000 be taken from the provincial government grant amount already assigned to road works this year to finance the above projects.
And in turn, that $140,000 would be replaced by the same amount from federal gas tax monies, resulting in no net effect on the District’s overall spending plans.
The concept designs for the four projects are the first step in a far-reaching District of Houston plan to improve and/or replace its infrastructure.