Sorry. This is all we can do. Sault has no more road-fixing cash

Jack squat.

That's how much Sault Ste. Marie has been allocated under a provincial road-improvement program that was proudly unveiled one year ago at Roberta Bondar Place.

Steven Del Duca, Ontario's minister of transportation, travelled all the way to the Sault on April 20, 2015 to announce he was reinstating a program that paid up to 90 percent of the cost of roads linking communities to provincial highways and border crossings.

With Sault MPP David Orazietti and Mayor Christian Provenzano grinning proudly at his side, Del Duca committed $15 million a year to the provincial Connecting Links program.

The money would start to flow in the spring of 2016, the minister said.

"The announcement of the reintroduction of the program was made in Sault Ste. Marie . . . in part because Sault Ste. Marie has the largest share of connecting links in the province at 24.5 kilometres," SooToday's Kenneth Armstrong reported.

Nothing for you, Sault

So it came as a surprise to city councillors last night to learn that, even with more kilometres of connecting links than any other Ontario municipality, the Sault won't get one thin dime under the program's first-year funding.

"They saw fit not to give us the money," said Don Elliott, the city's director of engineering services.

Earlier this year, City Council took the unusual step of putting all its eggs in one basket.

They'd apply for just one project under the Connecting Links program - a $2.4 million expansion of Black Road to four lanes between McNabb Street and Second Line.

They wouldn't apply to resurface Second Line between Great Northern Road and Old Garden River Road.

They wouldn't ask to fix Second Line Hill west of North Street.

With 77 communities vying for just $15-million, they'd better their chances by seeking the maximum amount of funding for our most pressing project only.

Butland tried to warn them. Mayor wouldn't listen

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

But Ward 1 Councillor Steve Butland wasn't so sure.

“Would we be wise to put in another application at the same time, or would we endanger our first one?” Butland asked.

Mayor Provenzano said another application might limit our chances.

Don Elliott agreed.

“We’re going for $2.3 million of $15 million," Elliott said. "If we are successful, and I hope we are, that is a good chunk of money."

They weren't successful.

Their ill-advised strategy was rewarded with a big chunk of nothing.

What went wrong?

Elliott says provincial staffers tell him that the widening of Black Road was not given a high priority.

"Especially given the current acceptable condition of the road surface," he says.

"The reason we're getting from the staff that I talk to is that they had other priorities that were crumbling. Bridges falling apart, etc. We want to work closely with MTO (Ministry of Transportation - Ontario) to make sure that this is eligible for next year."

Elliott says he'll make sure the Sault's connecting links are on the province's radar next year.

If they want crumbling, he'll give them crumbling.

"Second Line Hill, we're losing, near Carmen('s Way). That's a good resurfacing project. We're losing the south part of Black Road. And we're starting to lose Trunk Road now, too."

North Bay scored $2.9 million. Timmins got $3 million

The province cancelled its $15-million-a-year connecting links program in 2013 and Sault lobbied hard to get it back.

"There were two or three years where there was no connecting link funding. They've reinstated the program at the original $15 million annually," Elliott says.

There's talk that that program will now be increasing $5 million a year to $30 million, he told councillors last night.

This year, North Bay got $2.9 million for two projects, Elliot said.

Timmins got $3 million.

Thunder Bay and Sudbury don't have connecting links.

Resurfacing work slashed

Meanwhile, there was more bad news at last night's council meeting, about resurfacing work on other city streets.

Elliott advised councillors that "the resurfacing program for 2016 is greatly reduced from the 2015 program."

Each year, most of the city's $1.3 million miscellaneous construction budget is used for road resurfacing.

But Elliott says that isn't nearly enough.

"The miscellaneous construction budget has not been raised in two decades," he says in a report to Mayor Provenzano and city councillors. 

Last year, City Council agreed to top up the resurfacing program with another $1.1 million from the 2014 budget surplus.

This year, there was no extra money earmarked for that purpose.

The scaled-back 2016 resurfacing program approved by councillors last night includes the following streets:

These street sections will be resurfaced using an asphalt recycling technique, including a 50-millimetre layer of new surface asphalt, or mill and overlay. The pavement recycling method will provide recycled asphalt that can be donated as a base course to Class B streets listed below, or stockpiled for future resurfacing projects.

• Pim Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street

• Capp Street from Shannon Road to Trunk Road

• Asphalt patches as budget allows

Class B - asphalt roads with ditches

These street sections will be pulverized and paved with donated asphalt from other projects, followed by a layer of new surface asphalt:

• Creery Avenue from Lake Street to Elizabeth Street (a portion is a bus route)

• Asphalt patches as budget allows

Class C - surface treatment

The following streets are due for replacement of surface treatment:

• Case Road from Old Garden River Road northerly 

In other news, City Council agreed last night to sole-source the three-metre-high letters in a new Sault Ste. Marie welcoming sign to Ed's Concrete of Stratford, Ontario.

The big Sault Ste. Marie sign will be erected on Huron Street at the base of the International Bridge.

Ward 2 Councillor Susan Myers expressed concern that the design of the welcoming feature wasn't consistent with the two-decade-old "Naturally Gifted" concept that she helped develop into a logo and tagline for Tourism Sault Ste. Marie.

"I've been asked... why we would we not keep the theme Naturally Gifted that's already designed and created in-house?" Myers said.

The Naturally Gifted brand is used to welcome visitors arriving in the Sault from the east, north and at the airport.

"This design certainly is impacting and I like it," Myers said. "However I believe in a co-ordinated approach, using the same design as our other three entryways."

Her Ward 2 colleague Sandra Hollingsworth agreed.

"Branding is very important," Hollingsworth said. "I am still trying to understand why you haven't promoted the branding when that is who we are."

Steve Turco, a city planner, responded that some aspects of the Naturally Gifted campaign were incorporated into the concrete sign's design, but the slogan wasn't used.