Lloydminster city council is betting that years of advance planning will pay off in federal dollars.
Council voted Monday to submit two grant applications to the federal Build Communities Strong Fund, a $51-billion national infrastructure program launched in April.
If both applications succeed, the city could receive up to $3 million toward two projects already sitting in its long-term capital plan.
The first is the Bud Miller Enhancement Project, aimed at the fund’s Local Impact Stream. It carries an estimated cost of $2 million, split evenly between the city and the grant.
The work covers a rehabilitation of the front plaza between the pool, the PSM Park Centre and the playground, along with upgrades to the festival site west of the amphitheatre. That site hosts Canada Day, Fall Fest and the Filipino Festival.
Planned upgrades include new electrical hookups, a main stage and improved lighting.
Both pieces were already identified in the Bud Miller All Seasons Park Master Plan, which council adopted in December 2023.
The second application targets the Direct Delivery Stream for Phase 2 of the Central Business District Replacement Program. That project is pegged at $5 million, with the federal government covering 40 per cent and the city covering the rest.
Work would replace underground water, sanitary and storm sewer mains on two downtown blocks, one south of the clock tower and one east along 49th Street. Crews would then rebuild the surface, including roads and sidewalks.
The project is the next phase of the city’s Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan, following work already underway in Phase 1B.
Ryan Hill, who presented the item to council, said the funding criteria arrived with little notice.
“This came on pretty quickly,” Hill said.
Grant programs like this one typically require projects to be shovel-ready, meaning the design and cost estimates are largely finished before an application can even be submitted.
Because both Lloydminster projects were already scoped out in existing master plans, city staff could move fast once the funding window opened.
“It’s two projects put into one grant, but it’s two separate applications,” Hill said.
City staff said other projects, including some road work, did not fit the current funding streams but may qualify once a separate provincial-territorial stream opens later.
For the Bud Miller project, the city would commit $1 million from its Parks Services Capital Reserve and the Local Government Fiscal Framework if the grant is approved.
For the downtown project, the city’s $3 million share would draw from the Water/Wastewater Capital Reserve, the Capital Infrastructure Levy Reserve and the Local Government Fiscal Framework.
Federal officials have told the city they expect work to start within twelve months of approval, meaning downtown could see another year of underground construction if the application succeeds.
The application deadline for both projects is July 15.
Council has not yet been told whether either application will be approved.
