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Township council wrestles with roads budget
the 2018 roadworks plan, and postpone purchase of a replacement pickup truck for the public works department to next year. Council also agreed that instead of using its counties grant for purchase of a new tandem snow plow and water truck, the township would get a loan for the vehicle and use the grant to cover part of the cost for redoing the asphalt onDerby Street and Belmont Street next year.The rationale for taking out a loan for equipment purchase rather than road work is that after the loan is paid off, the snowplow would still be in good condition to continue working for several more years before it needed replacing. Ritchance Road remains on the road works schedule for 2018 and the township will use its federal gas tax grant to cover the cost for repaving and other work on the road. Reconstruction of Ritchance is a five-year project which will be complete in 2019.
Le budget de 2018 pour le canton de Champlain comprendra plus de 260 000 $ pour poursuivre les travaux d’amélioration du chemin Ritchance, une des plus longues routes du canton. L’achèvement des travaux de réfection, échelonné sur une période de cinq ans, est prévu pour 2019. —photo Gregg Chamberlain
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
Holiday driving advice The OPP remind all motorists that the annual Christmas R.I.D.E. counterattack program on impaired driving and other holiday traffic hazard situations is now in effect until after the first week of January. Drivers are also urged to observe winter road driving conditions and slow down. Champlain Township council spent most of its time on the 2018 roadworks bud- get reviewing priorities, after one council member declared he wouldn’t support any suggestions for bank loans to fix up some streets in the township. “I will not vote to borrowmoney to build roads,” said Councillor GérardMiner. “There is an effect on the (future) taxes because you have to pay the money back.” Council spent two days last week re- viewing the 2018 municipal budget preli- minary report. The December 14 session was dedicated to the capital works portion of the budget, which proposed about $4.3 million for roadworks, including both actual construction or improvements to township roads, bridges and culverts, and replacement of some roadwork vehicles. Most of the money for the roads portion of the capital works budget includes more than $3.4million in federal, provincial, and counties grants. It also draws $25,000 from the reserve fund, in addition to allocating a portion of themunicipal tax levy to the fund. The original roads’ report proposed the township secure bank loans totaling $621,120, to cover the rest of the cost for some roadwork proposals. That sparked Councillor Miner’s objection and a comment that “there are always roads to fix and we can’t keep borrowing every year because then there’s no end to it.” “We don’t have enough money to do all our roads,” saidMayor Gary Barton, addres- sing all of council. “So what do you want to do?” “What we must do is decide what is ur- gent,” said Councillor Miner, “and what we have to spend.” After discussion, council agreed to re- move Aimée Street and Duval Road from
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