Service Highlights - Public Works
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
In January, 1999, the Development Services Department was formed by the amalgamation of three departments: Planning and Development, Engineering, and Planning.
Development Services consists of four "divisions" which are Building/Inspections, Development, Planning, and Development Engineering. The Building Safety Codes and Inspections division changed its service delivery model by providing Electrical and Plumbing / Gas services by City staff rather than through a contract. This resulted in improved services and reduced costs. The Development division deals with Development issues such as: general inquiries, Residential Development Permits, Residential Certificates of Compliance, and processing of all Development Permits. The Planning division deals with Subdivisions and went through a review of the fees and charges that resulted in new fees effective on January 1, 2000. Council adopted the College Park Area Redevelopment Plan, the West Highway 43 Area Structure Plan and the Northridge Area Structure Plan. The Area Structure Plan and Subdivision processes were reviewed and streamlined. Processes to prepare a Parks Master Plan, area structure plans for the NE/SE corners of the City and a revised Intermunicipal Development Plan were started. The Development Engineering division processed 13 Servicing Agreements in 1999 worth a total of $6,492,045. Development Engineering revised fees and charges become effective on January 1, 2000.
Development Services:
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Total Building Construction Value $ 76,463,614.00
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30 Subdivisions creating 309 lots
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Total Number of Building Permits - 735
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Total Number of Permits - 7042
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Total Single Family Dwellings - 332
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Total Number of Dwelling units - 677
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Projects over $ 1 million dollars in construction value included:
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IV MACKLIN School $ 5,783,000
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Cove Properties 41 suite condo $ 2,200,000
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Kal Tire ` $ 1,500,000
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Gateway Apartment Complex
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5 - 34 suite apartment buildings,
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6 - 6 plex's, 4 - 8 plex's $ 7,900,000
Total $ 17,383,000
FLEET SYSTEMS
In 1999 Fleet reached agreement with the Fire Department to service and maintain their equipment. A similar agreement was entered with the RCMP a year earlier. In 1999, Fleet generated 3,835 Work Orders for repair and maintenance to over 200 pieces of Fleet equipment, 10 Transit units, 28 RCMP units and 15 Fire Department units. The City also invested $710,000.00 on capital purchases involving replacement and acquisition of equipment. Changes were made to operations and buildings to improve safety and efficiency which resulted in a score of 94% in the Internal Safety Audit. Fleet improved its use of technology by increasing the number of computer stations and installing a timecard system on the computer that will eventually eliminate the need for data input by clerical staff.
PARKS
The Parks Department experienced a very successful year in 1999. With significant increases in additional hectares of open space added over the last few years (19% increase from 1995 to 1999), the Parks Department has responded very positively to these challenges. Highlights for the 1999 year include the following:
CEMETERY PERPETUAL CARE FUND:
This fund has been under financial stress for many years. However, this year it experienced a successful turn around by adding money to the Perpetual Care Fund rather than supporting the Cemetery operations. With increased efficiencies, increased revenues and a financial strategy, the Perpetual Care Fund has been stabilized and is adding funds to rebuild.
MATURE TREE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM:
In 1999, the Parks Department added a new maintenance program to its services. This new program was able to review the City's large mature tree population and priorize the maintenance needs of these trees. Large boulevard trees that presented safety concerns were trimmed, pruned and removed where needed. In addition, the Elm population inventory was catalogued and a maintenance program established.
PARKS AND CEMETERY MASTER PLANS:
These two master plans are currently underway and will provide long term direction, extensive public review and policy statements to guide the Parks Department into the next decade.
TRANSIT 
The Transit Master Plan was a major focus in 1999. Through extensive public consultation, this comprehensive review of transit operations with a view to the future was completed. The 1998/99 Transit Master Plan was adopted by City Council in September 1999. Council's acceptance of the Plan recommendations resulted in service enhancements to County Club West, Gateway Power Centre and peak hour shuttle service to Countryside South residents beginning in October. Further service enhancements are scheduled for the fall of 2000.
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
In 1999 the Transportation Services section of the Public Works Service Area participated in several new City initiatives, one of which was a Public Works "In The Works" spring bulletin which identified upcoming construction projects and provided general information related to the various maintenance activities. The public response appears to have been quite favourable, and a similar initiative will be undertaken in 2000.
The Technical Section of Transportation, which includes the majority of staff from the former Engineering Department, relocated to the Service Centre. Benefits of that move were realized almost immediately with closer co-ordination of the Overlay Program and a revised aggregate used for snow and ice control resulting in less wear on our roadways, less damage to vehicles, and lower costs for maintenance activities.
Construction activities were significant with the Resources Road twinning, the Overlay and Sidewalk Replacement Program and construction of 112th Avenue to alleviate traffic problems in the Avondale neighbourhood. The overall value of construction this year was about $6.3 million.
UTILITY SERVICES
In 1999 Utilities Services continued the major upgrading project for the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The upgrading is necessary to meet the demands of our growing community and continue to improve the quality of effluent being discharged back into the environment. The construction of the new sludge digestion system was completed in the late summer and has been in operation since then. The next phase of the upgrade is the addition of a new secondary treatment process using the old digester tanks. This project will be completed in 2000, at which time the Plant will be able to serve a total population of close to 50,000. The Treatment Plant operations achieved 3,500 days with no time lost accidents by the end of 1999 and entered the new millennium without any operational complication. Treated wastewater sludge was again applied to nearby agricultural land in the summer. The City is looking at using this sludge for daily/intermediate cover at the Sanitary Landfill beginning in 2000. This will reduce the operating costs of both the Treatment Plant and the Landfill. With a second consecutive dry year, the Water Treatment Plant processed 3.0% more water than in 1998 - 16.9% more than 1997. This record production reiterated the need to strengthen the raw water supply line. Preliminary engineering of this work was initiated in late 1999. In 1999, three perennial capital maintenance projects that were traditionally "out-sourced" were successfully completed by in-house resources, at a cost savings in the order of 35%. The City's landfill received over 44,000 tonnes of waste in 1999. After adjusting for the wastes from the demolition of the Montrose School, the per capita waste generation and recycling stayed at approximately the same level as 1998. To increase waste diversion, the City is developing a Cardboard Recycling Program for commercial establishments.