The City of Lloydminster needs some government money.
The municipal government has been attempting to access funds from the federal government, in order to upgrade Lloydminster’s wastewater treatment plant to meet guidelines laid down by the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency. The guidelines dictate how wastewater from the community can be treated before being sent back into the North Saskatchewan River.
The estimated cost of the project has been set at $80 million, which the City had previously been unable to meet due to debt limits.
During Monday’s meeting of city council, administration was directed to send in another application to the New Building Canada Fund, in an attempt to secure $50 million of government funding for the program. Under the grant, funding would be divided up amongst Saskatchewan, the City of Lloydminster, and the federal government.
At least $1 billion has been set aside in the fund for communities with a population of under 100,000.
A previous attempt was made by the City to access the funds back in January of 2015. However, this application was unsuccessful, and did not make it past the first round of cuts.
With the move to send in an application approved, Lloydminster mayor Gerald Aalbers said he wants to get support from Lloydminster MLA’s and MP’s as well.
“Trust me, I will be beating that drum as hard as I can, encouraging and making sure people understand the situation, why we’re in the situation, and the situation that we’re in,” said Aalbers.
The City previously prepared a funding application to send to Alberta last summer. Overall funding for the project is expected to come through grants, the general revenue of the city, borrowing, and offsite levies.
The deadline to have a new plant in place falls in July of 2017.