Sparwood awards paving contract, town hall debated
Sparwood council has awarded its 2026 paving program contract to Terrace Construction while also signalling it may skip a planned town hall later this spring as the current council nears the end of its term.
Engineering Project Manager Brad Brent told council the paving program runs on a two-year cycle, with planning in one year and construction in the next. He said 2026 is the construction year and is funded through the pavement program budget, storm infrastructure budget and pedestrian program budget.
This year’s planned work includes a section of Pine Avenue from the base of Blue Spruce toward the recreation centre, Centennial Lane, a business alleyway, a pedestrian crossing on Aspen Drive near the Chamber of Commerce and paving in Birchwood and Briarwood Place if final costs remain within budget.
Brent said Pine Avenue work will include storm improvements, curb work and paving. Other areas will see paving and line painting, while Aspen Drive will get a pedestrian crossing with flashers.
Council was told two compliant bids were received and Terrace Construction, a division of Colas Western Canada Inc., submitted the lower compliant bid.
Council then unanimously approved a contract worth $944,270.52 plus taxes.
Wilks said he was pleased to see the municipality back on a regular paving cycle.
“I’m glad that we’ve gotten back to doing repaving every couple of years,” he said. “It works far easier to keep up with the infrastructure that way.”
Later in the meeting, council also approved the March 2026 strategic priorities chart, which staff said is updated quarterly and tracks progress on the district’s top priorities.
That discussion quickly turned into a broader question about whether council should still hold a town hall in May.
Wilks said he did not want to commit the next council to priorities or promises that may no longer align with its direction after the October municipal election. He also argued the current council has already completed a substantial amount of work and that many of the remaining big-ticket items are already underway and unlikely to change much before the end of the term.
Among the major projects he listed were the wastewater treatment plant, hot tub repairs, development cost charges, the zoning bylaw rewrite and future work related to Fire Hall No. 2, industrial land development and housing strategy.
“We have accomplished an unbelievable amount of work in just about four years now,” Wilks said.
Councillor Steve Kallies also supported skipping the town hall, while Councillor Amy Cardozo said she was fine with not having it.
Christensen was the lone councillor to push back. He said he did not necessarily want another meeting but believed a town hall still offers residents one more formal chance to raise concerns and remind the public council is still working during its final months.
In the end, council approved the strategic priorities chart, but no formal motion on the town hall was made during that discussion.
The meeting also included frustration from council over low public turnout at the district’s recent budget engagement sessions. Cardozo said only five people came to view the evening budget presentation despite the scale of the municipality’s finances.
“We had five people show up to see our budget on millions of dollars,” she said. “Meanwhile, people are upset about our remuneration. It’s just disappointing to me.”
Kallies echoed that frustration, noting the district is dealing with a budget of more than $60 million and yet very few residents took the opportunity to review it in person.
Taken together, the discussion reflected a council trying to finish major infrastructure work while weighing how much unfinished public facing work should be carried into the final months before a new council takes over.