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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
City takes steps to improve covered stairs Two events have prompted crew to beef up structures BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
A couple of upcoming events along Trail's covered stairs has city staff taking to the course early with some much-needed reinforcement. Roads and Grounds Superintendent Patrick Gauvreau and Brent Iachetta, city carpenter, have jumped on landings, pounded up and down stairs and shaken posts to see where weaknesses lie. They are now set out to make improvements in just two short months. “It's overwhelming,” said Gauvreau when the Trail Times took a tour of the longest set of stairs that stretches from the bottle depot on Rossland Avenue to Austad Lane Park. “There's lots of work that needs to be done with limited resources.” The 225-step staircase is considered a worst-case scenario and is now a starting point. Photos were taken to document sections of the stairs that are rotting, wobbly or worn down. After carefully mapping out what needs to be improved, the work has started. Forty-plus stair treads need to be replaced alone, and that doesn't include the odd stringer. Posts and even concrete has been
poured to beef up the structure. The city is going above and beyond its regular upkeep to ensure the stairs are ready for United Way's fundraiser Storm the Stairs set for Sept. 12, and the Red Roofs Duathlon scheduled the following day. Regular annual upkeep just won't cut it for the number of participants expected to be running and walking along Trail's iconic stairs. “I may end up spending $20,000 just on this staircase, and I've got over a dozen more,” said Gauvreau, adding that this year's budget for stairs' upkeep is about $56,000. A report documenting the health of the city's stairs is in the process of being finalized and should make its way to city council shortly for review. Until then, a small carpenter crew will continue to plug away at the first set of stairs. The costs associated with repairs will be tallied and used to determine the bill to reinforce the remaining staircases included in the race routes. The City of Trail has 63 sets of covered stairways, with the majority located on the west side. According to "A Guide to Historic Buildings and Places," a publication released a few years ago, if the stairs were stacked on top of each other, they would equate to 6,610 vertical feet, approximately two kilometres of stairway.
VALERIE ROSSI PHOTO
Roads and Grounds Superintendent Patrick Gauvreau surveys repairs underway at the city’s longest staircase beside the bottle depot on Rossland Avenue.
Police respond to man on bridge Council quashes break for library BY TIMES STAFF A male on top of the Victoria St. Bridge forced police to close the east-bound lanes Saturday morning. Sgt. Darren Oelke of the Trail and Greater District Detachment said police were called to the scene after a man climbed to the top of the structure and indicated he wanted to jump. Police closed one half of the bridge for approximately three and a half hours while dealing with the man. Oelke also said the fire department was instrumental in the situation with its rescue boat in the water, helping with traffic control on the bridge and providing its ladder truck for access to rescue the male. He said the male eventually came down on his own and was taken to Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital for treatment.
BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
After a few unexpected egresses earlier this year, the Trail and District Public Library recently found itself in a bit of a bind. The board asked Trail council to waive a $17,400 deficit, which was a request city officials denied at the last council meeting on June 22.
The cash shortfall added to further negative equity over three years, totalling almost $140,000. There was a turnaround in 2014 when the facility ran with a surplus, so instead of forgiving the debt, Trail council agreed to be flexible with repayment. The decision was not unanimous
with Coun. Robert Cacchioni opposing the recommendation. “If you look at all the different organizations we’ve bailed out, we’ve made major concessions to a number of groups, clubs and organizations,” he said, mentioning the library shortfalls were labourrelated with one leave followed by two successive retirements.
Contact the Times: Phone: FineLine250-368-8551 Technologies 62937 Index 9 Fax:JN866-897-0678 80% 1.5 BWR NU Newsroom: 250-364-1242
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“Even though the numbers are there we actually saved money over the last couple of years by being really frugal. It’s just that everything came about at one particular point in time,” he added. “I would forgive this as I voted to forgive a number of organizations and sporting clubs over the years.” See COUNCIL, Page 3
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