PORT HAWKESBURY: The mayor for the Town of Port Hawkesbury says having stronger asset management practices will be very beneficial for the town.
As a way to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Canadians, local communities are being provided with tools and support for evidence-based decision-making to help them plan a healthier, safer and more prosperous future for all.
The Government of Canada issued a funding announcement for $124,000 on March 16, in support of three projects in Nova Scotia communities through the Municipal Asset Management Plan (MAMP), including $24,000 for a project in Port Hawkesbury.
The MAMP offers funding, training and resources to help small and medium sized municipalities improve their asset management policies and approaches, enabling them to make solid infrastructure investment decisions.
“Like many towns, (we have) a wide range of infrastructure assets and responsibilities,” Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton told The Reporter. “And it’s important to be able to manage our municipal assets to ensure we maintain the best levels of business continuity to our citizens and businesses here in town.”
The program aims to strengthen local infrastructure planning and decision-making by increasing local asset management capacity through investments in activities such as asset management training, technology, and software enhancements and information sharing.
Chisholm-Beaton said their project, which has an estimated cost of $30,000, is aimed at recording and formalizing operation and maintenance data and procedures to better maintain and record performance on their asset register.
The town will target its water network and municipal facilities in this project. Free, open-source software will be used to collect, maintain and use their operation and maintenance procedures.
“These proposed activities will address the lack of formal record keeping and historical documentation on the type and status of operation and maintenance procedures,” she said. “Our asset management capacity will be improved in many ways.”
The Town of Port Hawkesbury will be able to present meaningful data to guide the planning and decision-making of infrastructure, Chisholm-Beaton said, by being able to look back at trends in operation and maintenance data.
This project will address the need to improve asset management practices within the town’s operations and maintenance structure, and will also provide an open source Computerized Maintenance Management System, which will aid in maintenance scheduling, tracking and costing.
“Managing, maintaining and having an efficient preventive maintenance schedule for our range of infrastructure assets will best position our town for success, now and into the future.”