Village of Lytton hires contractors to start expensive debris removal

The first phase of rebuilding Lytton — debris removal carrying a potentially hefty price tag — could be done in less than a month if everything goes to plan.

On Tuesday, the Village of Lytton held a special council meeting and awarded two contracts for municipal debris removal — the first to IBI Group, an environmental consultant, worth $250,000, and the second worth $350,000 to contractor Matcon Environmental Ltd.

Both firms are already working with the the Lytton First Nation, which council believes will give them an advantage when working in the village

“We are basically piggybacking our permit process with our neighbours who already have people in action,” Leslie Groulx, Village of Lytton interim acting CAO said.

The first phase of the debris removal and the contracts focus on five municipally owned properties consisting of the Lytton fire hall, the village’s public works building, its museum, the visitor information centre and the community’s swimming pool.

James Heigh, Village of Lytton project manager said by starting with the five properties, they will be able to gauge the amount of work needed and put together a plan for the rest of the village.

“So these are really starting points to get some early work started within the village, confirm some of the means and methods of work that we're doing and start working on the remedial action plan for the remainder of the sites in the village,” Heigh said at the council meeting.

He said with the current plan it will take about seven days to clear the properties of debris, adding this phase of recovery could be wrapped up in less than a month.

According to the village, debris removal is expected to cost between $8 million and $10 million.