THUNDER BAY — With a large number of potential infrastructure projects competing for limited municipal dollars, and a freshly elected city council at the helm, one councillor is calling for an updated list setting out the city’s infrastructure priorities.
Coun. Trevor Giertuga says the list will help the city focus its energy — and dollars — where they can have the most impact over the coming years.
The list, which encompasses both maintenance and upgrades to existing assets as well as new builds, could influence which projects are emphasized in applications for provincial and federal funding, and which could get put on the back-burner.
Council last received a similar list in September 2021, outlining the city’s top infrastructure priorities for technology, fleet, facilities, roads, bridges, and trails.
Since then, a new council has been elected with six new faces, and some projects on the list have been completed, while circumstances for others have potentially changed, Giertuga said in an interview.
“I want to see where we’re sitting now and have this council make a new priority list,” he said. “It’s been a while since we’ve done this.”
“It helps us provide administration with direction to have things shovel-ready or have some of the engineering done, those type of things. Then when we go to the government, we can give them our top infrastructure [asks] … so we’re set to hit the ground running and apply for matching funding.”
His motion, which will be considered by council Monday evening, calls for a list outlining estimated costs, potential funding sources, and anticipated timelines for at least the city’s top 25 infrastructure priorities.
City manager Norm Gale called that a “good idea” that’s been carried out a few times before under past councils.
Top priorities identified in the 2021 list included renovations at Fort William Stadium, a curbside green bin program and auto cart waste pickup, reconstruction of the north core downtown at Red River Road and Court Street, upgrading the traffic light system to allow synchronization, a multi-use indoor turf facility, and improvements at the Fort William Gardens and Canada Games Complex.
Many of those are now complete or underway.
Administration used criteria including health and safety, critical infrastructure, council priorities, accessibility, opportunities for leveraged funding, financial impacts like operational savings, and contributions to climate goals to determine priority.
Gale acknowledged the complexities of creating a list that will in some cases rank very different types of projects against one another.
“Absolutely there are apples and oranges,” he said. “How do you compare a [reconstructed] arterial road versus a multi-use indoor turf facility, and everything in between? It is in some cases a subjective exercise.”
“This isn’t science, it’s art — and ultimately, regardless, council will decide which projects it funds and when.”
Still, he said, there are clear benefits.
“Many of these infrastructure projects will need government support,” he said. “When we go to government to ask for funding, we can demonstrate this is the decision of city council, they’ve determined this is a top priority.”
“It’s also helpful for us when we’re planning budgets … if we know city council has determined an infrastructure project is something they want.”
Gale doesn’t envision any new public consultation as part of the process, but said staff may refer to the results of the city’s satisfaction survey to gauge where citizens want to see improvements.
In terms of how to decide which projects hit the top of the list, Giertuga said the availability of external funding is a key consideration.
“I think it all comes down to the matching funding,” he said. “If it’s 100 per cent paid by Thunder Bay tax payers, that’s going to drop things down the list.”
While the list may be most useful in prioritizing funding applications for new projects, Giertuga said council also can’t lose sight of the need to maintain existing infrastructure.
Staff have estimated the city has an infrastructure gap of up to $30 million a year, representing the amount it would need to spend to properly maintain its assets and plan for future renewal.
“Certainly we have a huge infrastructure gap, and we always talk about it, but previous councils have pushed that off,” said Giertuga. “The more you kick that ball down the road, the greater that gap gets.”
His motion calls for administration to report back with a proposed priority list by May 15.
