Planning and infrastructure

overview

The objective of the Planning and Infrastructure  Department (P&I) is to  oversee the planning, maintenance and construction of Sagamok Anishnawbek’s community infrastructure, fire and rescue, housing, roads, waste/recycling management and water plant and distribution.

Housing

The Housing Department is responsible for the Operation and Maintenance of Sagamok Anishnawbek’s current and existing housing infrastructure. In addition the Housing Department is also tasked with the construction of the various types of housing for the members of the community. During this fiscal year 2019-2020 the Housing Department had taken on the following projects at Maple Ridge:

  • 11 Single Detached Housing Units
  • 1 – 5-Plex Multiple Housing Units (Start Fall 2019)
  • 2 Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP)

Water department

The Water Department Operators conduct Daily Inspections and Testing of Water Quality at the following plants:  Halfway Pumphouse, Toulouse Pumphouse and Water Tower.

The Operators are testing for the following:

  • Turbidity, Chlorine Levels, Ph. Levels (Acidity)
  • Weekly sample for Bacteria and Coliforms

The Department is responsible for the safe delivery of potable water to the general public and to all Band Facilities (Biidaaban School, Daycare, Band Office, Millennium Centre and other facilities.  

The Water Department had extended the watermains into the newly developed Maple Ridge Subdivision. The Water Department is responsible for maintaining and ensuring that potable water is delivered to its customers and conduct watermain repairs throughout the year.

Roads Department

The Roads Department is responsible for the Operation and Maintenance of the entire road networking system within the Sagamok Anishnawbek and including the access road from Massey to Sagamok.  

The Roads department has been involved in the following projects:

SAGAMOK ACCESS ROAD PROJECT  This project is now underway and has completed Rock Blasting and the bulk of Granular Placement had been completed in the Fall of 2019. Road Maintenance turned out to be quite challenging and our Roads Dept. were in constant maintenance mode, let alone snow plowing. Invoices for all road maintenance were forwarded to TeraNorth and all payments received.  

Paving will be completed and all the Granulars for the shoulders and the line painting will be completed by June 2020.

INTERIOR ROADS PROJECT This project had been approved in Fall 2019. The P&I will require and to secure a Contract Administrator (Engineering Consultant) to design and provide Contract Administration for this project. A request to Sole Source for Engineering and Contract Administration was requested in February 2020.  

The P&I Unit are unable to make any decisions or actions on this project until a decision has been made. The P&I had responded to questions from the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO).

We are hoping to move on this project in two phases:

  • Phase 1 will include paving from the Boundary to the East, and up to and including Beaudryville.
  • Phase II will include Surface Treatment, rock blasting and culvert replacements down River Road, Espaniel Street, Maple Ridge, Fort Subdivision and to McBean.

sanitation

This unit is responsible for the pick-up and delivery of waste to the landfill. This unit picks up waste and recycling products at the housing units and facilities throughout Sagamok. The staff within this unit are also responsible for the maintenance at the landfill and this is accomplished through the use of existing heavy equipment and local contractors.  

The P&I are currently working with Neegan Burnside and SBC Consultants on a Waste Management Plan. This plan will review the following:

  • Strategic planning for a comprehensive waste management plan to either creating or enhancing your waste management program.
  • Measure/baseline current waste generation. Establishing a baseline against which future reductions will be measured is an important first step in tracking progress. You cannot measure what you don't know you have, nor can you set reasonable goals or report on successes. Data measurement and management are essential components of a sustainable program.
  • Complete a facility-wide waste operations assessment. Internally, assess waste and recycling container placement, color coding, and labeling. Poorly placed, unlabeled containers will ensure contamination. Externally, assess waste equipment utilization to maximize efficiencies and hauls to reduce costs and transportation impact.
  • Develop strategic action plans for improvement. The Roadmap performance improvement measures list is designed to help you pick and choose projects to help you meet your goals.
Fire Department

The Fire Department is responsible for ensuring the health and safety of all residents/visitors of the Sagamok Anishnawbek. The Fire Department provides the following:

  • Responds to emergency calls 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
  • Enters burning or contaminated buildings, structures, and other areas to perform rescues and/ or fight fires while wearing appropriate firefighting equipment as supplied by the fire service.
  • Attends regular and assigned training sessions to maintain and upgrade firefighting skills in accordance with established policies and operational guidelines.
  • Works in accordance with established policies, operational guidelines and the Occupational Health and Safety Act
  • Drives and operates firefighting and emergency equipment, as well as personal vehicles, safely and in accordance with polices and applicable legislation.
  • Maintains all equipment in good condition.

Community infrastructure

Maintenance of all Band-Owned Facilities including the following:

  • Band Office
  • Biidaaban Kinoomaagegamik School
  • Sagamok Daycare
  • Community Wellness Building
  • Multi-Education Centre
  • Fort LaCloche
  • Other Buildings and Facilities

Technical Services

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This unit is working with all units within the P&I and other Departments with the Sagamok Anishnawbek on a number of capital projects.  

Biidaaban Kinoomaagegamik School Project

Sagamok Anishnawbek’s current school, Biidaaban Kinoomaagegamik, was built in 1985 to accommodate grades K-8.  It is overcrowded and does not meet the educational needs of the community in terms of overall space, quality and functionality.  Conditions surrounding the current school present health and safety concerns for students and staff, especially for high-needs students.  The existing school does not have a gymnasium, cafeteria, or science room. Students and staff have to leave the school property for physical education classes, and to access the library (at the Community Centre).  This poses serious health and safety concerns due to potential slips and falls, weather conditions and the risk of crossing and walking along a busy road. Additionally, the gym at the Community Centre is larger than Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) guidelines and requires higher than normal maintenance and upkeep costs and currently needs extensive renovations.

With a student enrolment of 197, based on 2016-2017 nominal roll, the Gross Floor Area (GFA) according to ISC’s School Space Accommodation Standards 2016 (SSAS) should be 2,510.9m2.  This exceeds the size of the existing building (1,689.0 m2) by 821.9m2.  As per the feasibility study completed in October 2018, the projected enrolment for the design year is 201 students with a GFA based on SSAS, including an area for high-needs students, of 2,829.7m2.  

A Pay Action Request (PAR) was approved in March 2019 by the Regional Director General to support the detailed design and construction phases for a new school that will meet the current and future needs of the students and community.  

The project was approved with a total estimated cost (TEC) for design and construction stages for $10,977,324 (excluding feasibility study of $180,070).  The TEC included a dependent off-site infrastructure component of $280,913 made up of construction cost of $225,000 and non-construction component of $55,913.  Spending authority up to a maximum of $582,130 was approved and released in March 2019 for the Design Phase.  A Design-Bid-Build project delivery method was selected by the community.

Through competitive tendering processes, a Project Manager and Design Consultant were procured in June 2019 and September 2019, respectively.