Duane Hicks
The Town of Fort Frances is getting money to help pay for the infrastructure replacement work done on Second Street East this summer.
It was among 21 Ontario communities to recently receive funding based on their application to the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative.
The town has been given $847,379 to help pay for above- and below-ground infrastructure at Second Street and Mowat Avenue.
The cost of the project to the town is estimated at $1,271,068, thus the net cost is roughly $423,689.
Mayor Roy Avis said he was very pleased to hear the good news as the town was not expecting it.
“That’s one of the things we did when we went to AMO [in September]—we complained we didn’t get any money in the first round,” he noted.
“But it did come through.
“It’s great,” Mayor Avis added. “The government of the day has done an excellent job in giving us that money.
“[The piping] was 100 years old and it feeds pretty well the whole east end of the town,” he remarked.
“It was pretty much a necessity to do it, and it’s nice to see the government has come forward and assisted us in that project.”
The government dollars gives the town “a little more money to spend this year,” said Mayor Avis.
“Our infrastructure needs repairs,” he stressed. “That’s what we’re trying to keep doing.”
The infrastructure reconstruction work was done by Makkinga Contracting over the summer.
The funding announcement was made Friday, at which time Premier Kathleen Wynne and Rural Affairs minister Jeff Leal announced that the new Small, Rural and Northern Municipal Infrastructure Fund is now accepting applications.
Mayor Avis said the town has a few “shovel-ready” projects on the shelf and definitely will be applying for more dollars under the new program.
The new program, part of the 2013 provincial budget, will help address critical infrastructure needs for these communities, including roads, bridges, water, and wastewater projects, and [also] will support local jobs, according to Wynne.
“Small, rural, and northern communities are critical to the prosperity of our province,” she noted in a press release.
“That’s why we will work together as one Ontario to address the unique needs of every community so that everyone can grow and prosper.”
“During our summer consultations, our municipal partners spoke about their limited ability to address their pressing infrastructure priorities,” noted Leal.
“Through this new fund, we’re helping revitalize infrastructure that will grow local economies, strengthen rural communities, and create jobs,” he added.
“As a government, we’re committed to working with our municipal partners to provide essential infrastructure investments that will strengthen communities across the province in the long-term,” said Glen Murray, the minister of Infrastructure and transportation.
“Through the Municipal Infrastructure Strategy and this new infrastructure fund, we are making strategic investments where they are needed the most,” he stressed.
