After a year faced with challenges from Mother Nature, Chatham-Kent's Infrastructure and Engineering team is looking forward to a busy 2020.
According to Thomas Kelly, general manager of infrastructure and engineering services, 2019 was a year that saw record high water levels on Lake Erie. Along with that came several flood warnings across the municipality that resulted in two state of emergencies being declared, one along the Thames River in February and one in August along Erie Shore Drive.
"We worked really closely especially with our fire and emergency services," explained Kelly. "As far as the infrastructure and engineering services team, we were responsible and played a significant role in both [the flooding events.] We were really responsible for all of the infrastructure and that's where the greatest impact was."
The February state of emergency was accompanied by a dike failure while the August emergency resulted in a voluntary evacuation for homes along Erie Shore Drive. In addition, cement blocks were placed along the roadway, temporarily making it a one-way road open to eastbound traffic only.
Thomas said in 2020 the municipality plans to start tapping into the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, a grant program with the goal “to support large-scale infrastructure projects to help communities better manage the risks of disasters triggered by natural hazards."
"One thing that's on our list for 2020 is to utilize the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund from the government," he said. "This is where the municipality puts forward $2.5 million and the Federal Government is putting forward $1.6 million. We have projects lined up along the Thames River and also the Sydenham River that's going to utilize those funds to bolster that structure."
In addition to flooding, shoreline erosion was a constant topic of conversation across Chatham-Kent in 2019. In July, a 150-metre section of Talbot Trail was closed between Coatsworth Road and Stevenson Road indefinitely because of safety concerns over erosion along Lake Erie.
The municipality also hired a coastal engineering consultant at the beginning of the year to complete a Lake Erie shoreline study in addition to holding nine public meetings on the topic.
Kelly said the erosion conversation will continue in 2020, especially when the Lake Erie shoreline study gets completed in spring. The study will look at recommendations related to four strategies for dealing with shoreline erosion including stoping development in erosion-prone areas, raising foundations, hardening the shoreline to protect buildings and infrastructure and/or relocating any assets that are in harm's way.
"Really the key for us is the results and the recommendations in that report," said Kelly. "That will be presented to council in March. From there we look for some direction on the next steps on where we're going to go."
Another hot topic for 2019 that will carry into 2020 is the proposed building of a new multi-million dollar arena complex in Chatham. According to Kelly, in November the municipality submitted its official application to get $36.65 million in upper levels of government funding to go towards a $60-million twin-pad entertainment centre and multisport complex with a seating capacity of 2,200.
"We're certainly optimistic. We thought we put a really good proposal together that's not only just a twin-pad arena, it's an indoor multisport recreational facility as well," Kelly said. "If you look around at different municipalities, Amherstburg, Komoka, Belle River, Lakeshore, they all have new facilities. We have gone and seen these facilities, every one of them has received some level of upper-tier government funding. We really feel it's our turn now."
Kelly said the first few months of 2020 will be a waiting game to hear if the funding was approved. He expects to hear a decision from the province by the end of March and the Federal Government by the end of June. Both tiers of government must approve the application for it to go forward. Council has already approved committing $18-million towards the arena project in addition to private donation commitments.
Kelly said if government funding is approved, the project will go full steam ahead with constant communication and updates provided to the public throughout the process.
"Right now we supply a report to council every quarter. We don't have a lot of activity right now but we are just anxious. We're answering questions from the government as they occur...if there's any information we receive we'll certainly pass it on to everybody," he said.
Besides arenas and flooding, 2020 will also bring multiple upgrades to roads across Chatham-Kent. On January 13, the Engineering Department will present council with a capital project plan that includes $13.5-million in significant projects for the year.
A total of $2-million is up for council approval towards changes to the Queen's Line and Merlin Road intersection, just east of Tilbury. Kelly said the intersection has continuously been a popular topic of debate with many residents expressing safety concerns.
"We're looking at putting some intersection improvements there. That's a really important one for us," he said. "There's been some accidents there and we want to try and improve the safety of that interchange. That's hot on our list."
Upgrades and improvements are also a possibility for Grand Avenue East from Prince Albert Road to St. Clair Street, pending approval of assistance from the provincial government. Kelly said the municipality is also eyeing $1.5 million in upgrades to Prosperity Way and Seventh Line, known as the Bloomfield Business Park.
"We've got some expansions with respect to our Bloomfield Business Park that is only going to serve to attract more business, we hope."
Kelly said another goal for 2020 is improving recreational trails across the municipality. He said bringing in more multiuse trails is one of the most common requests that the Engineering Department hears from residents. According to Kelly, The Greenfield Global Trail, formally the Thames River Trail, will be moving into its next phase of growth. By the time the project is complete, he said it will be roughly 21 kilometres long.
"We have funds on tap as well to continue that expansion. Our goal is to eventually have it run down Grand River Line, over the Prairie Siding Bridge then back to the River Line so it's a complete circle. That equates to just about half a marathon," explained Kelly.
Overall, Kelly said 2019 was a bustling and productive year, a theme he expects will continue in 2020.
"There's been a lot of promotion of Chatham-Kent, certainly in the last couple of years. We think that's starting to pay off," he said. "We're getting a lot of good feedback from not only citizens but also visitors to Chatham-Kent as well who want to come back."
