One of several snow and ice-related policies recently approved by Town Council, a new Snow Load Inspection policy has been put in place to mitigate risks posed by excessive snow loading.
Snow load evaluations will be carried out prior to the end of the year by a contractor on buildings constructed before 1995. Those buildings will then be assessed every four years.
Fifteen municipally-owned buildings fall within the evaluation criteria laid out by the policy. The Community Centre, Municipal Operations Building and Central Control Building are among them.
The Town notes that improved standards in buildings constructed since 1994 have made snow load evaluations unnecessary on newer buildings. Future evaluations, however, will be carried out on all buildings over 20 years old.
Above-average snowfall will trigger weekly inspections of Town-owned buildings, which will take place within 72 hours.
Buildings with excessive snow loads deemed to be unsafe will undergo snow removal operations. Safety risks as perceived by by the Town could see buildings closed and evacuated until snow removal has taken place.
The policy’s creation comes as a result of January’s arena roof collapse, when the Town’s Public Works department was asked to prepare a policy dealing with snow loading.
The purpose of the policy, according to the Town, is to ensure the public’s safety, and to protect public property.
In another matter, Town Council also recently approved a schematic design for the soon-to-be-built NexSource Centre.
The option chosen came with a $1.6 million project budget increase, after Council was forced to re-evaluate the project’s scope due to financial constraints.
With several options presented, the one chosen sees a reduction in lobby/circulation space.
To accommodate the budget increase, Council will review capital spending in other areas to determine which, if any, may be revised or delayed without any negative impact.