The town of Sackville is eligible to receive a substantial amount of federal cash, much more than expected, for its proposed emergency services and town hall facility thanks to the efforts that have been put in to make the building energy-efficient.
Andrew Amos, the senior engineering consultant on the project, told town council last week that the Green Municipal Fund for which the town has applied underwent some upgrades earlier this spring, increasing the amount of funding available for municipal projects.
This means Sackville’s project is now in line for $1 million in grants, rather than the $400,000 the town anticipated receiving.
Both Mayor Pat Estabrooks and CAO Eric Mourant said they were thrilled with the news, adding an additional $600,000 will be a considerable boost for the project and help to pay down the mortgage debt of the new facility.
“That’s excellent news. We’ll certainly take all we can get,” said Estabrooks.
Mourant said the architects and designers have worked extremely hard to ensure the project has been eligible for any available funding, noting that “all the environmental planning has paid off.”
The Green Municipal Fund, doled out by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), provides financial support in the form of loans or grants for local initiatives that benefit the environment, local economy and quality of life.
With a building design that meets the national energy code requirements by more than 60 per cent and the community’s current efforts towards developing a sustainability plan, “we’re eligible for even more than we thought,” said Coun. Margaret Tusz-King.
The $12-million facility will feature a green roof with walking paths and vegetation, geothermal heating, in-slab heating, daylight sensing dimming fixtures, occupancy sensors, solar pre-heated domestic water, a computer control system and hydration stations for staff to fill up re-usable water bottles.
The new building on Main Street will house municipal and rural RCMP, local firefighters and town staff under one roof.
And more good news was announced last week – the long-awaited lease between the town and the RCMP is expected to be signed officially tomorrow or Friday (June 17-18).
The RCMP, in its leasing agreement with the town, will pay for a share of the construction costs as well as annual maintenance and operational expenses for the rural officers to be housed in the new facility, while the town will pay its share for the municipal RCMP force.
Amos said the site work is expected to be wrapped up by the end of June and the construction tender is ready to go as soon as the lease is signed. He expects work could get under way on the outer shell of the building by mid-summer.
