Essex County council gets update on asset management plan

By Ron Giofu

Essex County council has received an update on its asset management plan.

The update came before county council at the Feb. 1 meeting with director of financial services/treasurer Sandra Zwiers noting it took a wide range of county administration to compile the report. She said many municipalities across Ontario use consultants to create the update but they did it in-house. She added “it affords us a greater depth of understanding” by doing it in such a fashion.

Manager of accounting-administration/deputy treasurer Heidi McLeod went over the update with elected officials during the meeting.

“We’re admittedly late in delivering this report but we felt it was important to improve the quality of our data so that the report provides a more accurate representation of the status of our asset collection and our future funding requirements,” said McLeod.

The county’s total infrastructure value is over $300 million, she indicated, with the report only including core infrastructure assets including roads, bridges, culverts and stormwater mains. Overall asset condition sees 47.8 per cent of it in good condition, 24.6 per cent in fair condition and 21.6 in very good condition, according to the report. Six per cent is in poor or very poor condition.

“We should be proud of the fact the majority of our assets are in good to very good condition,” she said.

McLeod said overall asset health had a grade of C+ in 2017 while the 2022 grade saw it go to A. Broken down into segments, the road network went from a C+ to an A, bridges and culverts went from a B to an A while storm sewers went from B+ to A+.

“I’m not suggesting the roads were horrible before, but recognizing that our data quality has improved, it is a credit to our road maintenance operations,” she said, adding very poor or poor roads are scheduled to be upgraded within the next five years.

The county’s annual requirement for its infrastructure in its core assets is just over $27 million, with an annual expenditure of $13.4 million. The annual deficit is just under $13.7 million, she added. The current investment rate is at 49.5 per cent, added McLeod.

“The funding gap of almost $14 million each year means we aren’t spending enough to maintain the current level of service which may put our future asset health and performance at risk,” said McLeod, adding “slow and calculated steps” are necessary to close the gap.

Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara stated while they will likely not get to 100 per cent investment needed into roads, they need to do better than 49.5 per cent. Understanding future replacement costs is a better planning tool as it looks at current pricing trends, inflation and regional supply chain issues, McLeod continued.

The county road network consists of 1,356 kilometres of varying surfaces, and does not account for future expansion, McLeod added. Tar and chip roads will be eliminated as they will have asphalt surfaces within five years, she said, noting there are 32 kilometres of tar and chip roads in Essex County’s road network. There are also 254.2 kilometres of CWATS surfaces, she stated.

Of the 84 bridges and 126 culverts with a span of threemetres or more, there are 14 bridges and two culverts shared with lower tier municipalities. Approximately 73 per cent of bridges were in good condition, 22 per

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Boblo Island Community Expansion Project

Enbridge Gas Inc. (Enbridge Gas) is proposing to construct the Boblo Island Community Expansion Project (the “Project”) to supply the community of Boblo Island with affordable natural gas. The Project is located in the Town of Amherstburg, Essex County, Ontario.

The Project will involve the construction of approximately 2.9 kilometres (km) of a combination of 2-inch plastic and 4-inch steel pipeline. The proposed pipeline will tie-in to an existing Enbridge Gas 4-inch steel pipeline near the intersection of Dalhousie Street and Park Street in Amherstburg. The pipeline will cross the Detroit River (approximately 600m) to reach Boblo Island. The distribution system on the island will be approximately 2.3 km in length. The Project is planned to be within the existing municipal road Right-of-Way (RoW) with the potential for Temporary Working Space (TWS). The proposed pipeline route has been developed for purposes of an assessment of potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts and does not represent the final project scope/design that will provide access to natural gas to end-use customers. For further details, please refer to the map.

Consultation with Indigenous communities and engagement with landowners, government agencies, the general public, and other interested persons is an integral component of the planning process. As such, two Information Session options will be held:

In-person Information Session

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

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Libro Credit Union Centre

3295 Meloche Road, Amherstburg, ON

Virtual Information Session

Tuesday, February 21, 2023, to Tuesday March 7, 2023 https://www.solutions.ca/Enbridge-BobloIsland

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Email: BobloEA@stantec.com Or cent in fair condition and four per cent in very good condition but when it comes to culverts, 34 per cent are in fair condition, 25 per cent in very good condition, 22 per cent in poor condition and 16 per cent in good condition.

Sixty-one culverts have not been replaced since being downloaded from the province. Expected useful life of culverts have been prolonged due to higher quality construction materials, she said.

Storm water mains are usually a local municipality issue, McLeod stated, but there is a 4.8-kilometre county network that has an average condition of very good.

LaSalle Deputy Mayor Michael Akpata asked about the anticipated strategy due to inflation. He wanted to hear about a long-term fiscal strategy about inflationary pressures. Zwiers said the report details with replacement values from 2021 so “admittedly, we already have a lag.” The plan contains estimates to “give us a ballpark” and Zwiers said the figures are expected to change annually, with those changes being reflected in annual budgets.

Akpata also asked if the infrastructure shortfall is acceptable with Zwiers saying “band aid” solutions aren’t reflected in the report but while the $14 million is “ominous,” there is a contribution to the maintenance of assets.

“The goal of 100 per cent funding is not a goal that I personally have and I don’t think any treasurer across the province is going to suggest the municipal property tax is going to get us to 100 per cent funding,” she said.

Zwiers hoped to “move the needle” over time but the asset quality has to be monitored and the dollars spent over the last five years in the maintenance of the assets are showing success.

“We do have to keep an eye on that deficit and work towards reducing it,” she said.

The province has capital grant programs, Zwiers added, and she said the county wants to equally access those dollars. A road rationalization study is anticipated in late 2024, director of infrastructure services Allan Botham.