The City of Trail was awarded a $50,000 grant on Tuesday to help it plan for the future.
The local grant was awarded through the Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP) aimed to help communities deal with aging infrastructure, including roads, buildings and bridges, competing priorities and limited budgets.
Trail Mayor Mike Martin said the city is delighted to get this valuable financial support.
“The establishment of an Asset Management Strategy will establish a high-level, long-term approach to managing assets associated with water and wastewater systems, drainage and flood protection systems, civic facilities, parks and mobile equipment,” he explained.
“The objective is to create an inventory of assets and asset conditions and through this to establish a long-term plan which can be integrated into the long-term financial plan and thereby assist council and staff in the management of the city’s assets.”
Francine Pressault of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, told the Trail Times that the funding can help local governments collect data to assess existing infrastructure and plan ahead.
“We provide funding for up to 80 per cent of total eligible costs, to a maximum of $50,000,” said Pressault.
Trail’s grant was among 159 initiatives approved through three infrastructure programs funded by the Government of Canada and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities: the Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP), the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP) and the Green Municipal Fund (GMF). Funding for these new initiatives amounts to $12,139,728.
“An effective Assent Management Strategy will ensure the sustainable delivery of services to meet the current needs of the community in a manner which does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” added Martin.
“Proactive asset management will yield fewer service disruptions, more predictable results and lower lifecycle costs than a reactive approach to repair and replacement.”
FCM’s new Municipal Asset Management Program is a five-year, $50-million program designed to help Canadian municipalities make informed infrastructure investment decisions based on sound asset management practices. The program is funded by the Government of Canada.