THREE RIVERS, P.E.I. – A new lift station and water park are on the radar for the neighbourhood of Georgetown.
The interim council of Three Rivers passed motions during Tuesday’s meeting at Kings Playhouse to submit both possible projects as expressions of interest for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure (ICIP) program.
Dorothy MacDonald, the former CAO of Georgetown, said the expression of interest is not a firm commitment but rather a chance for further discussion.
She said the province had asked communities planning to apply for the federal funding to first give an expression of interest, so they could get an idea of what the provincial portion may be.
MacDonald said replacing the lift station has been on Georgetown council’s agenda for quite some time.
“It’s high on the priority list.”
She noted a breakdown occurred about five years ago.
“The lift station is so old that when they went to access the parts they had a real hard time,” said MacDonald. “They were told, at the time, the next time there was a failure chances are they’re not going to be able to replace any parts.”
The lift station ensures sewage is processed properly. MacDonald said there is also no battery backup so if the town was to lose power, the station only has a certain level of capacity before it would go to the harbour.
Replacing the lift station would cost about $200,000 in 2008 and MacDonald said the cost would likely be closer to double that now.
“We didn’t want to miss this opportunity (for federal funding) … we also didn’t want the new council to think we’re only thinking about ourselves,” said MacDonald. “It’s not that we’re not wanting to be regional, these are issues that were already out there.
Council also passed a motion to submit an expression of interest for a waterpark, about $100,000, in the neighbourhood of Georgetown. MacDonald said several non-profit groups in the area had previously come together to look at a community project.
Council also approved a motion to allow for the construction of two 12-unit apartment buildings in the neighbourhood of Montague. Those apartments would be located behind the site of the former Montague Town Hall.
Andy Daggett, the former CAO for Montague and development officer, said the apartments were not targeting a particular group or age but would still be filling a need in the area.
“There’s a desperate need for apartments,” said Daggett.
