Council has adjusted how much it is spending in its capital budget for 2025 as it continues towards final approval for its financials for the year.
At a special budget meeting held last night, Tuesday, February 18, 2025, council was presented with an updated budget item to consider, specifically the possibility of having Elizabeth Street West resurfaced between York Avenue and Cornwall Avenue. The road resurfacing returned to council at the request of coun. John McTaggart, who made a notice of motion at last week’s regular meeting of council. Discussing the budget line, councillors were presented with the option to add the road resurfacing project to the 2025 Capital budget, at an added cost of $50,000 to the overall total, to swap the project for another road resurfacing project that has already been approved for 2025, or to not pursue the project at all. While most of the councillors felt the road needed to be seen to, the opinion was torn between doing the project at extra cost to the town or doing it at the expense of a different project. Council ultimately decided to add the Elizabeth Street project to the existing capital budget, which brought the total for the draft 2025 Capital Budget to $29,719,165.
While discussing costs, council asked clarification from Travis Rob, the town’s operations and facilities manager, on why a street with few residences on it would be chosen for resurfacing before a road with more residences. Rob noted that roadwork is assigned based on the existing road surface, with roads in worse condition being higher priority for resurfacing work.
“My goal and hope is that we’ve kind of started a ongoing annual road resurfacing minor improvement project that will continue on year over year,” Rob said.
“The anticipated life of a surface treated road is five years. So every five years would be adding another layer to it. That’s how it works, your initial double coat, and then every five years after that, you have a single coat on top of it. The hope is that every year we have equipment coming to town doing something.”
Council also briefly discussed the town’s operating budget, which has been the subject of two special meetings. Following a meeting held on February 4, 2025, yesterday’s meeting saw council receive am updated version of the operating budget, which administration is expecting to carry an increase of $316,901 over last year’s tax requirement. Last night’s meeting saw town treasurer Dawn Galusha return with several minor adjustments that council had requested earlier this month, including a reduction in funding from $15,000 to $10,000 to the town’s firework budget for Canada Day, a transfer of $11,000 to the town’s election reserve, and a $2,314 reduction to the OPP Detachment Board.
Both the final drafts of the 2025 Capital and Operating Budgets will be presented to council for final approval at the next regular council meeting on Monday, February 24, 2025.
The Times will have more information on the Town of Fort Frances’ 2025 Capital and Operating Budgets in the weeks to come.
