Город Сент-Томас возьмет на себя долг в 167 млн долларов для строительства очистных сооружений

St. Thomas faces $167M debt as it builds wastewater plant for growth The $440-million Dalewood Water Reclamation Facility is considered crucial to supporting industrial and residential expansion. A $440-million wastewater treatment facility under construction in St. Thomas is crucial to unlocking major industrial and residential development in the growing city and surrounding region, even as the city expects to take on about $167 million in debt to help finance it, Mayor Joe Preston says. Projected to be “substantially” completed by 2030, the Dalewood Water Reclamation Facility is being built in the city’s north end and is the largest project associated with Yarmouth Yards, the roughly 610-hectare (1,500-acre) industrial park where PowerCo’s $7-billion electric vehicle battery plant and synthetic graphite manufacturer Vianode’s facility are under construction, according to a recent report to city council by treasurer Adam Boylan. Preston called the wastewater treatment project “imperative” to the development of Yarmouth Yards and the city’s continued growth. “We sat back and wrote a strategic plan that caused us to start building Yarmouth Yards, and then our second strategic plan now is about the growth of St. Thomas,” Preston said. “That includes really unsexy things like the growth of wastewater treatment, or water itself, or more electricity or better roads. So, it’s all in the plan.” Yarmouth Yards is a “generational” investment by St. Thomas that has created the potential for “significant growth and opportunity,” Boylan’s report stated. Its $1 billion in “associated infrastructure” represents the largest such expenditure in the city’s history, the report added, providing roads, water and wastewater infrastructure needed to support regional residential, commercial and industrial expansion. But with $833 million anticipated to come from “new and external” sources, St. Thomas does not have sufficient funding on hand to complete the Dalewood Water Reclamation Facility without borrowing, resulting in an estimated $167 million in debt, Boylan’s report said. The report estimates that debt will cost the city $9.7 million annually to service after 2030. - St. Thomas considers tougher approach to vacant downtown storefronts - Booming Toronto-based burger joint Rudy expands into London, St. Thomas - Advertisement 1Story continues below “Based on staff’s cash flow analysis and revenue forecasting, the City will be unable to fund its annual debt obligation of $9.7 million entirely through development charges and related development revenues and therefore must redirect portions of new industrial revenues from Yarmouth Yards towards annual debt repayment obligations in the interim,” Boylan’s report said. Preston said there are still several years to explore ways to help pay down the debt, including funding from other levels of government and revenue generated by users. “Lots of time to continue to work with the federal (and) provincial governments to help us with it,” Preston said. “We needed a much larger wastewater plant so that we had the capacity to grow both industrially and residential, but the users whose wastewater goes through that plant also helps pay for that plant in the long run.” Preston said attracting large industries that generate substantial revenue could help cushion potential residential tax increases. “Our treasurer gave us a very detailed report with a lot of risk analysis in it that said this will not have to be on the backs of the residential taxpayers because we’re doing it and planning it right, and we’re doing it over a long period of time,” he said. The report provides several recommendations aimed at reducing financial risk and improving the city’s ability to respond to future uncertainty, including continued diversification of industrial growth, maintaining an adequate supply of developable land and adopting a new development charges bylaw. Boylan concludes the financial modelling presented in the report shows St. Thomas is well-positioned to support the financing requirements associated with Yarmouth Yards and the Dalewood Water Reclamation Facility. “While the outlook remains positive, the scale of the investment and the pace of growth anticipated over the coming decades requires continued monitoring, regular reassessment, and disciplined long-term financial planning,” Boylan’s report said. Preston said St. Thomas’ investment will help attract “large industry” to the city and create “generational jobs for the future.” “There’s lots of servicing and cost that come with developing an industrial park like Yarmouth Yards, but boy, is it ever worth the cost and effort,” he said.