CBRM News

Municipality to seek federal and provincial funding for Gabarus seawall proposal

June 7, 2013

SYDNEY, NS –The Cape Breton Regional Municipality is putting forward a cost sharing proposal to the federal and provincial governments to move forward on repairs to the Gabarus seawall.

"We are very concerned that no action will be taken in advance of the hurricane season. Mayor Cecil Clarke and council are putting forward a proposal for consideration and seeking federal and provincial participation," said District 7 Councillor Ivan Doncaster.

Doncaster says the Municipality is submitting the proposal in writing to ECBC and the provincial Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

 

The CBRM proposal involves the municipality contributing up to $100,000 in funding and acting as the proponent and project manager. The proposal requires the provincial government to update the engineering analysis in their May 2012 assessment and contribute the remainder of funding up to the 50 per cent level. The request to the federal government, through ECBC, is for 50 per cent funding.

The initial estimate of the province's proposed mitigation effort, described in a report to the province's chief engineer, was $600,000. This cost covered repairs to approximately 50 per cent of the seawall at the north end. The Municipality will await a final engineering assessment from the province to update the one year-old estimate.

"The federal and provincial governments can now make their decisions on the project and cost-sharing," said Doncaster. He noted the Municipality has no jurisdiction over the seawall but is offering a proposal and a share of funding, $100,000, to address the situation in advance of hurricane season. "As a municipality, we have done as much as we can at this point."

Municipal fire, police and emergency management officials participated in a public meeting in Gabarus yesterday that focused on the community's emergency response to a seawall failure.

The area's provincial and federal representatives, Member of Parliament Rodger Cuzner and MLA Alfie MacLeod, said they will encourage the provincial and federal governments to act quickly. They have indicated they support the Municipality's efforts to bring the federal and provincial governments to the table and make timely repairs to the seawall.

Letters to funding partners:

Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation
Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal

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