Council approves two major Dorchester projects, and commits to new fire hall by 2026
Last week Tantramar council approved over a million dollars in spending in Dorchester, with a tender awarded for the reconstruction of Station Road and an approval to buy a new pumper truck for the Dorchester Fire Department. But both purchases hit snags with budget limitations before they were approved.
The reconstruction of Station Road will see 115 metres of roadway rebuilt with curbs and storm sewers. The lowest bidder on the project was Bowsers’ Construction, but even their bid of roughly $312,000 (HST included) was about $50,000 too high for the allocated budget. Town engineer Jon Eppell told council he came close to recommending reducing the length of the reconstruction by one fifth, but Treasurer Michael Beal came up with a fix, thanks to some unspent funds in the municipality’s snow removal budget.
Last year, Tantramar decided to buy additional equipment in order to take on snow clearing in Dorchester. Previously, the village had relied on private contractors to do the work. Because staff weren’t sure if the equipment would arrive in time for the snow season, the town kept its budget allocation for contracted snow removal in this year’s budget. But the equipment did arrive in time, and so that money was not spent, which turns out to be good news for Station Road.
“Within the 2024 budget for the Dorchester sub-unit, we have $90,000 that is unallocated,” Beal told council last week.… Continue