The County of Grande Prairie purchased this land, adjacent to Five Mile Hall, back in 2019 for the purpose of building new schools in the east County area (Photo: Shaun Penner / EverythingGP)

By Shaun Penner

Municipal Stimulus Funding

County granted $2.6 million to help service Five Mile school site

Dec 2, 2020 | 5:30 AM

The cost of servicing the lands adjacent to Five Mile Hall has been decreased for the County of Grande Prairie, thanks to some stimulus funding provided by the provincial government.

Through the Municipal Stimulus Program (MSP), the province has allocated over $2.6 million to go towards water and wastewater servicing for the site. It will house a replacement K-8 school for Harry Balfour School, as well as a future new high school and potential new recreational amenities for East County residents.

“The County of Grande Prairie sincerely appreciates this boost from the Province to help sustain and develop our community,” said Reeve Leanne Beaupre. “This funding plays a critical role in supporting our efforts to continue to meet key infrastructure needs for our citizens and region, especially due to financial pressures from COVID-19 and changes to our economic reality.”

This funding will slash the overall cost of the project for the County by about one-third, down from over $6.9 million to about $4.23 million.

The County will be funding the remaining servicing work.

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“There is power and gas to the property line, but it needs to be upgraded to service a school of that size,” said Beaupre. “The County will be responsible for those costs.”

She adds that the County views those costs as an investment, as future development is possible in that area.

“It’s a real opportunity for the County of Grande Prairie to take advantage of some long-term strategic planning,” said Beaupre. “There is some residential land that could be developed in the future, so as some of that develops out or is purchased by developers… we would endeavour to assist and claw back some of that money to pay off the debt.”

The County says full servicing installation should be completed by summer 2021. Detailed design of the water and sewer, as well as power and natural gas infrastructure, is underway, with tendering expected in December.

County Council on Tuesday also voted to transfer the lands specifically for the Harry Balfour replacement school to the Peace Wapiti Public School Division. Though there is no set timeline of when construction of the new school may begin, the province has already allocated the full funding for construction in the 2020 budget.

“Peace Wapiti Public School Division values the County of Grande Prairie’s ongoing collaboration in support of education,” said PWPSD Superintendent Bob Stewart. “Their provision of serviced school sites is vital to our ability to educate rural students where they live while reducing lengthy bus rides.

“We are appreciative of (this) infrastructure funding announcement and the continued commitment of our municipal and provincial partners in improving education in our area.”