Robert Fisher
Staff Reporter
BARRY’S BAY – Operations Supervisor Mike Phillips updated council on the status of a sand dome for the Township of Madawaska Valley (MV) at the June 3 council meeting.
Council has been discussing a dome for some time to be located at Yard 1.
Phillips received information from the Township of Bonnechere Valley about a similar project there in 2022. Bids for a large structure came in well over budget. The municipality ended up reducing the size of the dome by half and completed the project for a bid of $338,000. The structure has a concrete foundation and fabric covering. The township spent approximately an additional $100,000 for site preparation.
Phillips said MV uses about 6,000 tonnes of sand annually. He estimated the cost of a storage facility for MV at more than $1 million to hold a little more than 3,200 tonnes of sand, which would require mid-season restocking of sand inventory. The municipality has a sand dome reserve of $695,000.
Operations Committee chair Shelley Maika said money has been set aside for a sand storage structure since 2007 and that the township has two works yards, with each needing a dome. She also said it is a long-term project and is not a “dire need” in the next year or two.
“I appreciate the information. If we’re going to put in a sand dome, we need to put in one big enough … I think we should continue to do some research.”
A storage facility at Yard 2 on Highway 60 is easier, Maika said, because the area is large, open and flat. Yard 1, behind the Paul J. Yakabuski Community Centre, will be more difficult because of lack of space.
Operations Manager Hilary Kutchkoskie told the Gazette that, when left outside, ice will form on the sand pile. Staff have to take more time to separate the iced up sand and if chunks of iced sand get into the truck, the chunks will jam the distribution mechanism in the truck.
Kutchkoskie informed council that a request for proposal for design and repair of the water tower at Water Tower Park is closed and two parties submitted responses. Kutchkoskie has not yet reviewed and scored the responses and will bring an update to a future council meeting.
“Are you shocked by the numbers they’ve given?” asked Blank.
“No, I’m actually shocked it’s very reasonable,” Kutchkoskie replied.
Phillips told council the new trailer for the Bark Lake waste site reuse service (the Bark Lake Mall) should have been ready to open by end of day last Wednesday. The Gazette checked Saturday and the trailer was not quite ready to open. We will update when the service is operational again.
Blank suggested the township needs more garbage containers to prevent people from dropping garbage on the ground. Recommended sites include by the public dock and along the main street area of Barry’s Bay.
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