County presented with updated asset management plan

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County is developing an update to its asset management plan which aims to better describe and catalogue county resources for council use. 

The purpose of the Nov. 25 presentation was to review the master asset management plan which was discussed earlier this year in preparation for the county’s budget deliberations. 

The initial version of the plan provides an overview of the county’s assets, as well as provides information regarding maintenance and rehabilitation needs of local infrastructure. Additionally, eventual decommissioning is documented with regards to upgrading or adding assets. 

“It’s not a deep dive into every asset, but we (have) a picture of where we are at with every asset and the plan going forward is to supplement that with deep dive asset management plans where we are really looking at everything within that asset to update the master asset plan,” said Harry Kim, manager of information services. “The county’s total asset replacement cost is estimated to be at $766 million as of 2025. Every asset we have, over time at different times and periods is going to need replacement, so this is the number that we are looking at.”

Accounting for nearly half of the county’s asset portfolio (47 per cent), is the local road network, which demands an estimated total cost of $359.7 million to replace in its entirety. 

Kim clarified this number is fluid based on construction costs at any given time; however, the ongoing trend is for such expenses to increase. 

Gravel roads were specifically excluded from the replacement cost calculation due to requiring an estimated $22 billion to replace, which would skew the rest of the results. Gravel roads are typically maintained perpetually as opposed to being replaced.

Immediately behind the road network in terms of cost to replace are the county’s bridges and culverts, estimated to be at approximately 120.4 million. 

“Some of the good news is that our condition data (shows) we have almost 84 per cent of our assets to be in fair or better condition. The main consideration behind condition is year built, so we are estimating that if it was built at a certain period, by now it is at a certain condition,” said Kim. “What we did right now is just get an overview. We didn’t get a deep dive, but this is an area that could improve in the future when we do deep dives into specific assets where we will be able to get more accurate information.”

The current asset management plan suggests approximately 41 per cent of the county’s assets will require replacement within the next 10 years. 

Though no decisions regarding the master asset management plan have been formalized due to its presentation before the committee of the whole, the information will serve to guide future council decisions, particularly in regard to the upcoming 2026 budget.