How will Bradford look after hundreds of non-core assets? There is a plan for this

No matter how you slice it, maintaining all of Bradford’s parks, vehicles, equipment and facilities comes at a cost.

On June 18, council approved a report by Matthew Simurda, the city’s asset management project manager. It provides an update on the municipality’s asset management plan for secondary assets under the Provincial Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act.

Unlike core assets, which include roads, bridges, water infrastructure, sewers, and stormwater, secondary assets include facilities, parks, vehicles, and equipment.

The plan describes the features and condition of the infrastructure, what is expected of it, how long it is expected to last and what is needed to maintain it.

Section 2 Con. Jonathan Scott described the plan’s approach as “steady as it goes” and stressed the importance of “core lessons” in “good old-fashioned small town values” when it comes to budgeting and “paying what you can year after year “. to maintain assets, adding that the board should not “mess around” with Simurda’s approach.

“If this speaks to you, the next phase will speak even louder,” Simurda said in response, adding that the next phase of the asset management plan will also need to look at proposed service levels.

As of 2023, the city had 255 assets in a category ranging from small equipment to heavy vehicles with an average age of five to 16 years and an estimated replacement cost of $34.5 million.

On average, these assets were estimated to have approximately 45% of their remaining useful lives.

According to the report, 100 percent of maintenance inspections were completed in 2023, with 97 percent of assets in fair or better condition.

The report lists the city as having 35 facilities with an average age of 22 years and an estimated replacement cost of $225.2 million, including:

• community centers — six
• emergency services — two
• municipal buildings — three
• operational facilities — 11
• sports facilities — two
• other facilities – 11

The condition was not included for facilities because the city has not completed facility condition assessments in recent years, but average annual life cycle costs are estimated to be approximately $4.7 million.

According to the report, the city’s 27 parks include 535 assets with an average age of 10 years and an estimated replacement cost of nearly $34.9 million, including:

• ball diamonds — eight
• exterior lighting — 109
• playgrounds – 45
• skateboard parks — three
• splash pads — five
• sports fields – 20
• sports fields – 16
• others – 329

On average, these assets were estimated to have approximately 55% of their remaining useful lives, and average annual life cycle costs are estimated to be nearly $1.6 million.

“It’s a great report,” said Mayor James Leduc.

The update came just two weeks after Ian Goodfellow, the city’s chief financial officer and treasurer, explained that Bradford had made “great progress” and was “doing a very good job” of investing funds to cover the eventual cost of replacing assets the city.