click here to see a breakdown of that $2.1 million budget<\/a>).<\/p>\nThe roads, or parts of these roads, that seem to be making the cut this year are: South Lancelot Road, Morgans Road, South Waseosa Lake Road, Fish Lake Road, Vernon Shores Avenue, Line Hill Road, Markles Road, Lynx Lake Road, West Court, North Drive, West Browns Road, Old Ferguson Road, Stephenson Road 12 East and West, Old Muskoka Road, South Drive, Parkside Drive, Forest Glen Road, Riverside Drive, Lawrence Avenue, Longs Lake Road, Grandview Drive, Rowanwood Road, Meadow Park Road, and Stephenson Road 1.<\/p>\n
The subcommittee is proposing that the estimated $2 million being put into roads this year be increased by another $250,000 going forward each year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re pretty confident that\u2019ll make a huge difference in particularly our rural road network, which has been left and neglected,\u201d explained Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison.<\/p>\n
He noted that asphalt is the most expensive way to rebuild a road surface. He said the Town is considering high float in many rural roads, which is cheaper.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big thing about that is you get a lot more road done for a lot less money but the problem with those is you have to make sure that the base is in decent shape and you have to make sure you install culverts properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aitchison said the budget subcommittee is also proposing increasing the public works operating budget. \u201cBecause we can have our staff doing a lot more of the brushing and ditching and replacing culverts and such that need to be done before you do any work on the surface,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
In terms of the priorities listed in the commissioned roads needs study, as presented to Huntsville\u2019s General Committee on November 25, Aitchison pointed out that what’s listed as a priority in that report is not what council will necessarily go with.<\/p>\n
\u201cFowlers Road comes up first and then it suggests we need to spend a million dollars on Madill Church Road from Highway 11 into our pit. That just doesn\u2019t seem that bad to me and Jason (Krynicki, Director of Infrastructure) agreed,\u201d said Aitchison. \u201cBasically that\u2019s what the software produces if you have all the money to spend in the world.”<\/p>\n
The proposed roads to be tackled this year will be introduced at Huntsville\u2019s General Committee meeting on December 14. It does not include Madill Church Road or Fowlers Road, but it does include a big area of Old Muskoka Road, according to Aitchison.<\/p>\n
He said a public meeting will be held in January to explain the Town\u2019s rationale with respect to its approach to roads, and which roads are being proposed to be tackled in 2016 and into the future.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going to try and get as many people out to the Algonquin Theatre as possible and I\u2019ll show them what our plan is going forward and we\u2019ll make it public. We\u2019ll make sure that people know what the plan is. I want to try and take the politics out of this as much as possible because our roads are bad enough. We just need to be making the investment where they need to be made, without politics.
\nMayor Scott Aitchison<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\nDepending on assessment growth and other variables, Huntsville\u2019s budget subcommittee is currently looking at an estimated 4.5 to 5 per cent tax increase.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith that, we\u2019re going to spend another $400,000 on roads capital, plus we\u2019re going to increase Public Works\u2019 operating (budget) by another almost $300,000,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Deputy Mayor Karin Terziano, who sits on the Town\u2019s budget subcommittee, said there are a number of factors putting pressure on Huntsville\u2019s 2016 budget deliberations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we are going to see a more significant budget increase than I can remember ever seeing before, but it\u2019s not due just to roads. We are going to make a commitment to roads, but a lot of it is due to the capital assets plan that we have to have now that is mandated by the Province, so that\u2019s adding to our budget. And the $3 million debt that we inherited doesn\u2019t help either,\u201d she said, referring to debt racked up by the municipality during its 2009 \u2013 2010 fiscal year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got the Stephenson Road Bridge, which is a shared bridge with Bracebridge and it\u2019s over $2 million to replace that bridge and we may have no choice but to do it this year \u2013 so those things are significant,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Feature photo courtesy of Andrea Brown<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/broadstreet-zone>\n
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