Major Capital Projects
Major Capital Projects are evaluated, planned and approved using the framework outlined in the Operating and Capital Budget Policy FIN-024-C. Typically, Major Capital Projects are classified as Tangible Capital Assets with total projected costs in excess of $500,000.
Last updated: March 2025
| Major Capital Project | Project Information |
|---|---|
| Aquatics Planning / Construction |
Based on the results of the Aquatics question that was included in the 2024 Municipal Census, 69.7% of households who responded expressed support for a new aquatics facility being located at the Dow Centennial Centre. Budget was allocated in 2024-2026 for the design process as well as further refinement of the project scope and timeline. On June 25, 2024, Council amended the 2024 capital budget from $2 million to $5.4 million and approved a borrowing bylaw to fund the design portion of the project. January 2025 work began to identify site location and design of a new aquatics centre. Funding for construction will be requested following this work. |
| DCC Arena - Planning & Construction |
The Recreation Facilities and Parks Master Plan, along with community feedback, highlighted the need for construction of a new arena within the City. Design and project scope is expected to begin in 2029 with construction around 2030/31. |
| Fire Station Planning & Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) / Construction |
With the continued growth of the City, the current fire hall is no longer centralized in the community and is unable to provide optimal emergency response time. As well, the current fire hall does not support the expanding needs of the department for operations or with the cities Emergency Operation Centre (EOC). Station Scope Study started in late 2024 and continued into 2025. Detailed design will begin sometime in 2025 with construction expected in 2026/2027. |
| Live Fire Training Centre |
A modern live fire training facility would provide reliable training opportunities and keep our staffing and resources in the City. This also provides cost efficiencies and increased ability to provide on-shift training with minimal effect to response capabilities. This project has not yet been approved but is expected to commence in 2027. This project is tied to the construction of the new Fire Station Planning. |
| Major Capital Project | Project Information |
|---|---|
| Alternative Waterline |
The objective of this project is to determine the preferred water source options to meet future water needs as the City's demands continue to increase. The preferred alignmnet is expected to be confirmed in 2025. |
| City Limit Entrance Signs |
Our current City Entrance Signs are aging and require significant refurbushment; therefore, a project to replace our current signs was approved during the 2025 budget process. This project replaces the existing highway entrance signs and positions the new signs in more accurate locations. Design of the new signs is currently scheduled for 2025 with installment planned for a future year. |
| Dog Park and Dow Fields - Paving |
This project consists of paving the access roads and parking lots to the dog park and Dow fields located in the West River's Edge area. This project is currently planned for 2027. |
| Water Tower Refurbishment |
To keep the Water Tower in good structural condition, maintenance is required including exterior repainting and cladding replacement. The project timeline is currently under review. An update will go to Council in 2025 (Date TBD). |
| Veterans Way Corridor |
Traffic flow along the Veterans Way Corridor continuously increases with growth and must be addressed for traffic and pedestrian safety. The Functional Planning Study for the widening of Veterans Way is now complete. The project includes widening the corridor to 6 lanes, intersection improvements, right of-way acquisition, and pedestrian safety considerations. The project is contingent on funding support from the Province. Widening phases are currently anticipated for 2029. |
| Major Capital Project | Project Information |
|---|---|
| Cemetery Master Plan |
The current cemetery is anticipated to meet the community's needs until 2030 to 2032. Increasing the inventory of inground plots will require an expansion to the cemetery. Areas of expansion and new strategies are being reviewed in 2025 as recommended by the 2024 Cemetery Flood Risk Study. |
| Bike Skills Park - Design |
A Bike Skills Park is a purpose-built facility for all types of bicycles, including BMX, mountain, dirt jump, and pedal-less bikes. A bike skills park may include pump tracks, dirt flow trails, dirt jumps and wooden features that provide spontaneous and affordable opportunities for a variety of age groups and skill levels. The park is proposed to be located at West River’s Edge recreational area behind the Dow Diamonds as a distinct park area. Design funding was approved in Budget 2025. Approval for construction is expected to brought forward as part of Budget 2026. |
| Heritage Trails Park |
The Fort Centre Park Master Plan provides the vision for a regional park in the 40 hectares of open space on the lower terraces between the Highway 15 bridge and the Fort Heritage Precinct. This 40 hectare area was initially known as Fort Centre Park but was renamed on July 2, 2024 to Heritage Trails Park. Phase 1 construction is complete with deficiencies being addressed in the Spring of 2025. Design of Phase 2 is being discussed in 2025 for feasibility and scope. |
| Materials Handling Site - Design |
The current Material Handling Site is used to process and store reclaimed asphalt and concrete. The site is also occasionally used for temporary snow storage. In 2022, Council approved funding to study the land acquisition, regulatory requirements, costs and operational logistics of having a municipal snow dump facility included within the Materials Handling Site and the Feasibility Study was presented to Council in 2024. The study included recommendations for a site that would meet the City’s needs for the next 50 years. Initial site review and design development will begin in 2025. |
| Transit Bus Stop Improvements |
To improve the accessibility of the service, Transit will be upgrading the infrastructure at local bus stops, including the installation of new concrete pads, benches and shelters. This project is currently slated to go to Council for approval during the 2026 budget process. Transit is also seeking grant funding to apply to this project. |
| Major Capital Project | Project Information |
|---|---|
| New Local Transit Buses |
The purchase of two additional transit buses is required to expand local service starting in 2027. This expansion will serve developing neighbourhoods, helping the City achieve its service coverage target. To ensure buses are available for mid-2027, the procurement process will begin in 2025. |
| Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) |
The City’s ERP, Microsoft Dynamics GP, is the software that provides City’s core business processes, such as accounting, utility billing, human resources, property taxation, payroll, purchasing and reporting. It is estimated that this project will take mor than 30 months to complete. This project is currently planned to commence in 2025. |
Proposed Capital Budget Documents
Budget Recommendations, including Capital Projects, are detailed and approved during the yearly budget process. All budget documents can be found on our Budget and Finances page, which include detailed descriptions of proposed projects for Council approval.
Capital Project Priority Based Budget (PBB) Scoring
Priority Based Budgeting (PBB) serves as a tool for evaluating program or project options and alternatives to help make decisions about resource allocation. It is based on allocating budget dollars to programs and services that bring the greatest value to the community, with the intent to optimize service delivery and maximize value for tax dollars.