Title
Capital Budget Approval for Construction of an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Ambulance Facility
Proposed Motion(s)
That Council approve the Capital Budget in the amount of $5,794,200 for the construction of an EMS Ambulance Station to be leased to Alberta Health Services (AHS) for a twenty-year period, and that the project be funded through debenture borrowing.
Body
Administration Recommendation(s)
Administration supports the proposed motion.
Purpose
The Municipal Government Act requires that long-term borrowing of funds, over five years for a capital property, be included in a budget. Section 258(3) is the relevant section.
Summary
Administration has been working with Alberta Health Services, Alberta Transportation, Alberta Infrastructure and the Town of Stony Plain concerning the construction and lease of a building for an EMS Ambulance Station for over a year. Parkland County is agreeing to undertake the construction of the building using its borrowing capacity to fund the construction. In turn, the building will be leased to AHS over a twenty-year period. The net cost to Parkland County will be zero. The land where the building is to be located is in the Town of Stony Plain but is owned by Alberta Transportation. Parkland County has obtained a zero-cost lease for the property over the 20 years of the lease agreement with AHS. The Town of Stony Plain has expressed their agreement for the project to proceed in their municipality. The property in question is properly zoned for the intended use of an ambulance facility. The first step in this project is to obtain approval in the capital budget for this project.
Strategic Plan/Policy/Legal/Staff Implications
This project meets the following Strategic Plan values and objectives:
· Parkland County is showing leadership, cooperation and supporting community values in the region and province by collaboratively constructing an ambulance station for the benefit of the region on Provincial Government land in the Town of Stony Plain.
· The ambulance station will improve resident safety and quality of life.
Staff Implications
The additional building will have an impact on existing County facility maintenance staff. The building will be approximately 17,000 square feet more than half of which will be dedicated to ambulance bays. Infrastructure Services staff will need to evaluate the future impact on their facilities staff and budget accordingly. Also, AHS may be looking for parking lot maintenance services which would be agreed to and paid for through the lease agreement.
The project itself will be managed by retired staff member Randy Dubord who will manage the project and be paid on an hourly basis minimizing the work load on existing County staff. This service will form part of the overall project costs returned through the lease agreement with AHS and will result in a zero net cost to the Parkland County budget and the residents of Parkland County.
Financial Impact:
Cost: $5,794,200
Source of Funding: Debenture Borrowing
Other
The net cost of this project to Parkland County and its residents will be zero. The lease agreement will contain a lease rate that will return (yet to be finally negotiated) some surplus to Parkland County each year for the twenty-year lease period. See attached report for further details.