Grand Concourse Authority: Budget 2016-18 Expenditure Reduction

In preparation for Budget 2016-18 the City of St. John’s undertook a review of programs and services provided by the Parks Division under the Department of Public Works. As a result of this review many services that were formerly provided by the Grand Concourse Authority (GCA) will now be delivered through public tender or by City staff.
 
“We remain firm in our commitment to maintaining trails that fall within City boundaries, and we understand that these outdoor amenities are widely used and enjoyed by residents and visitors alike,” said Mayor Dennis O’Keefe. “Formerly, maintenance and landscaping to City owned buildings and monuments was contracted to the GCA. These items are not part of the GCA trail system and this work will now be awarded by public tender or delivered by the City’s own parks staff.”
 
Under Budget 2016-18 the City is providing $550,000 to the GCA for maintenance costs of trails within the City. Services that have been removed from the agreement with the GCA, totalling $439,573, include:

• City owned monuments and landscape maintenance of City owned buildings that are not a part of the GCA trail system. Savings to the City estimated to be $70,000 for monuments and $38,574 for City buildings.
• Pippy Park trail segments have also been removed as these are located on land owned by the provincial government. Savings to the City is $90,375.
• Grooming of trails by snowmobile from January to March has been removed from the service agreement with savings of $40,735 to the City. The Department of Public Works is currently seeking measures to utilize available staff and equipment in order to groom these trails.
• The annual grant of $200,000, these funds were set aside for one-off projects that were provided by the GCA. Such projects are now subject to tender. 

“As always, our objective to provide the best municipal services to the public in the most cost effective and efficient manner possible and the decisions made in respect to the GCA reflect this mandate,” said Mayor O’Keefe.
 
Media Contact:
Kelly Maguire
Media Relations
City of St. John's
709-576-8491
kmaguire@stjohns.ca