"$56"- * 5 r /&84
Counties will invest in Russell Township
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
Mayor Pierre Leroux enjoyed a successful result to his sales pitch for the counties to invest in service upgrades for the 417 Industrial Park.
Mayor Pierre Leroux’s silver-tongued sales- manship pitch won Russell Township an investment partner in the United Counties of Prescott-Russell. !e counties council voted unanimous approval Sept. 21 to invest up to $5 million in an economic development project to pro- vide full water and sewer services for the 417 Industrial Park.!e vote followed on a report from counties administration and "nance department o#cials about a presentation from Leroux to the counties council during its Sept. 9 committee of the whole session on a Prescott-Russell Area Partnership (PRAP) for the industrial park. “Very pleased,” saidMayor Leroux during a later interview on the results of the vote. “I’m looking forward to this project going forward. It’s something that will bene"t both the municipality and the counties.” Also known as the Vars Industrial Park, the site near the Highway 417 overpass through Russell Township is the location for many of themunicipality’s newest commer- cial and industrial developments.!e $13.5 million project to connect the industrial park to the municipal water and sewer systems
is expected to help attract more investment in the site and increase its overall property tax value ten-fold to both the municipality and the counties. During his earlier presentation, Mayor Leroux con"rmed that both the township and local property owners in the industrial park are already committed to their combi- ned $8.5million share of the service upgrade project.!e counties’ contribution seals the deal and provides the township with further "nancial leverage for the project. Stéphane Parisien, counties chief admi- nistrator, noted in his own verbal report on the PRAP proposal that Russell Township’s Vars Industrial Park upgrade will serve as a pilot project for the whole PRAP concept as a way for the United Counties of Pres- cott-Russell (UCPR) to develop economic development aid partnerships with its mem- ber municipalities to help themgrowwhen other sources of "nancial development aid from senior-level governments might not be available. When the PRAP concept was "rst conceived, there were several possible pro- jects considered as potential subjects but,
Parisien noted, Russell Township has the only project which is at a stage for actual investment. He added that approval of the Vars Industrial Park PRAP does not obligate the UCPR to approve support every year for any other PRAP proposals presented to counties council. “!at will always remain a decision of council,” Parisien said. “Let’s see where this one goes.” Under the terms of the PRAP proposal for the Vars Industrial Park, the township will work out a funding arrangement, through some kind of municipal loan or other means, to cover the UCPR’s $5 million investment. In return, the counties would repay the township for that sum through tax rebates on the value of the property tax owed to the UCPR from the 417 Industrial Park. Right now the UCPR receives close to $200,000 in property tax revenue from the Vars Industrial Park. According to the PRAP plan, the counties would continue to receive that base property tax every year. As the
property tax value of the Vars Industrial Park increased each year, any amount of property tax revenue above the base $200,000 that the counties received would be turned back over to the township as payment towards the counties’ $5 million share in the servicing upgrade. !is option promises that the UCPR will see its $5million investment paid up within seven years through the increased com- mercial and industrial property tax reve- nues resulting from improvements to the industrial park, which will also attract more businesses to set up there and so increase the property tax value of the area evenmore. Parisien noted that the payback could be even sooner depending on much the ove- rall property tax value of the Vars Industrial Park increased during the next few years. !e PRAP proposal projects the tax value of the 417 Industrial Park for the UCPR alone should increase to more than $2 million a year thanks to the servicing upgrades. “It’s an investment for the future,” said Parisien.
21 e festival de la citrouille du 27 septembre au 1 er novembre 2015 Les samedi, dimanche et lundi de l'Action de Grâce : 10 h à 17 h
Ouverture de la Clinique de denturologie Fournier de Rockland
11h30 12h30 13h30 14h30 15h30
C’est entouré de sa famille, des membres de son équipe ainsi que de quelques dignitaires, que M. Nicholas Fournier, propriétaire, a célébré l’ouverture officielle de la Clinique de denturologie Fournier de Rockland, le mardi 8 septembre dernier. M. Fournier tient à remercier les nombreuses personnes qui se sont déplacées afin de venir le saluer et de visiter ses nouvelles installations. Sincères félicitations !
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker