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City council approves water and sewer for new operations building

Whitehorse city council agreed Monday to pay more than $300,000 to bring water and sewer to the site of a proposed new city operations building.

Whitehorse city council agreed Monday to pay more than $300,000 to bring water and sewer to the site of a proposed new city operations building.

Plans to construct the building off Range Road on Two Mile Hill, and consolidate a handful of city departments, are still the source of some disagreement on council. That wasn’t enough to stop the $305,873 contract from being awarded to Castle Rock Enterprises Ltd.

Coun. Dan Boyd, who has voiced his concerns about the overall project, said he was voting in favour of the water and sewer plans because the upgrades would still be beneficial if the city didn’t go forward with plans for the operations building. His yes vote doesn’t mean he’s in favour of the building itself, Boyd said.

Another councillor who has questioned the city’s plans is Coun. Samson Hartland. On Monday Hartland said he couldn’t vote in favour of the sewer and water work. It’s putting the cart before the horse, he said.

The operations building has a price tag of about $47 million. About $15 million is slated to come from the federal gas tax.

In May city council approved a $2.15 million contract to design and eventually supervise the construction of the building, if it happens.

The city wants to complete the design and site preparations this fall and winter, and begin construction in April 2017.