MUNICIPAL. The City of Drummondville should have, by the end of the week, details from the provincial government regarding its request for a review of subsidies for its drinking water treatment plant (UTE) project, which has undergone a rise in construction costs causing a financial hole of $ 28 million.
Following questions from a citizen on the file, Tuesday evening, during the regular meeting of the municipal council, the mayor of Drummondville Alain Carrier indicated that the City is in close contact with its various partners in order to ” obtain, in particular, new subsidies through the Municipal Water Infrastructure Fund (FIMEAU) program.
“I thought I had discussions last Friday, but the responsible minister was not available, finally. I spoke with (André) Lamontagne and (Sébastien) Schneeberger and they told me that the file is progressing and that we should have news this Thursday or Friday, at least, details (…) On the federal side, It is difficult to talk to them, because we are in an election period, ”said Mayor Carrier, stressing that he benefited from a“ listening ear ”on the part of the provincial.
Remember that the City has to deal with a jump of nearly 30% in the cost of the project, from an estimate of $ 80 million to $ 108 million.
Moreover, the same citizen could not understand why the project was announced last July when the City was aware of a rise in costs. Mayor Carrier replied: “It is not because we want to exonerate the members of the council and the management by telling you this, but you know, the money announced by the levels of government, it is not. it is not us who manage the date and the moment, it is them, therefore us, we were quite simply present (…) Everyone knew that it would cost more, so I told myself that they (governments) were adjust according to prices, ”he explained, understanding the citizen’s disappointment.
During the same evening, the municipal council adopted a resolution allowing to adjust the loan by-law to finance the work of the new factory.
“We are fighting to keep the cost of work under control despite the strong impact of the pandemic on construction prices. We are therefore proactive in adjusting the loan by-law to minimize any delays in the implementation of the project, but that does not prevent us from being also active with other levels of government and our partners to develop a financial package that will minimize the pecuniary impact for our citizens ”, underlined the chief magistrate.
Finally, elected officials endorsed a resolution to replace one of the pumps at the current plant. Work in the order of $ 105,699.
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