The Village of Telkwa community plan got a big shot in the arm last Tuesday thanks to a $680,230 fund transfer from the Government of Canada Tax Fund.
“This is a very proud day for me as Mayor of Telkwa,” Carman Graf said after the announcement by Prince George-Peace River MP Bob Zimmer.
“This is huge, huge huge.”
The funds are earmarked for improvements to the Telkwa municipal building, a biomass heating system and a sustainable subdivision development plan.
“We will become a leader in green energy in the north,” Graf said of the upgrades to the insulation of the municipal building together with the biomass heating system.
“This will take us a long way toward being carbon neutral.”
Upgrades to the insulation and exterior covering of the municipal building are expected to be complete this year.
Work on the biomass heating system is expected to begin this year as well, Graf said, but a completion date has yet to be established.
Graf also noted the Gas Tax funds allow the Village of Telkwa to provide jobs for local contractors.
“Today’s investment will allow the Village of Telkwa to reduce its carbon dioxide footprint by almost 140 tonnes a year, that’s very significant,” Zimmer, speaking on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, said.
As with many communities across Canada, Telkwa is faced with upgrading its facilities.
“We know in our northern communities infrastructure is in need of repair,” Zimmer said.
Art Kaehn, Chair of Fraser Fort George Regional District and UBCM board member, speaking on behalf of UBCM president Quesnel Mayor Mary Sjostrom, agreed, adding tending to infrastructure upgrades is made more difficult for communities, such as Telkwa, which have a smaller tax base.
“Everyone agrees that the communities across B.C. should have high quality and dependable infrastructure,” Kaehn said.
“This project demonstrates why programs such as the Gas Tax Fund are so important to local B.C. governments.
“As a result local governments are able to accelerate their capital plans so needed improvement happen sooner than later and that’s good for the economy.”
The biomass heating system, Zimmer said, was key to the success of the application, especially considering the region has an abundance of wood waste and to be able to use that waste to produce heat and electricity provides a great opportunity.
“It’s a really cool and innovative idea,” Zimmer said.
“It’s huge especially with all the biomass around us, especially with the beetle kill that’s around us.
“It’s nice that they’re looking at ways of utilizing this timber that would normally just rot away.”
In addition to furnishing heat for the municipal building, the biomass heating system is expected to provide heat for a nearby business, the Telkwa elementary school and four nearby residences.
Some of the funds, about $36,000 are dedicated to the development of a plan for sustainable subdivisions.
Graf said such a plan is important given Telkwa continues to grow and there’s a steady flow of enquiries regarding residential, commercial and industrial uses
“We are very excited to receive the Gas Tax funding,” Telkwa Mayor Carman Graf said.
Transfers from the Gas Tax Fund are providing communities across Canada with predictable long-term funding to address infrastructure needs.
In 2011, the Government of Canada passed legislation committing to invest $2 billion annually from the Gas Tax Fund to infrastructure projects.
“These projects are an excellent example of how the Government of Canada is working with different levels of government supporting long-term economic growth and building for the future,” Zimmer said.
Kaehn agreed, adding funding for projects such as that proposed by Telkwa is difficult without cooperation between all levels of government.