The hopes of Centre Wellington council came true last week when MP Michael Chong announced the township will receive a $1.8-million grant for work on Sideroad 19, north of Fergus.
The work will provide full municipal water and sanitary sewer service to residents of Sideroad 19, Burnett Court and Victoria Crescent, and also cover the reconstruction of those roads.
Federal funding will be provided through the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
The township will match the federal grant, for a total project cost of $3.6-million. The grant is expected to improve source water protection, bring the roads to full urban standard and create local jobs.
“Through our Economic Action Plan, the government of Canada has been investing in essential infrastructure projects like this one to create jobs for Canadians now when they are needed most,” Chong said. “We are also investing in infrastructure projects that will enhance economic and environmental sustainability.”
Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj said in an interview she had hoped to get funding that would be also be matched by the provincial government, but that was not possible. In any case, she said, the township will accept all the help it can get and receiving half the cost of the project is much better than having the township pay the entire bill.
She said she was particularly relieved to hear about the grant because Sideroad 19 is considered one of the worst roads in the township and the grant means water and sewer services as well as paving. She said that means the township would not have to turn it back to gravel.
Simply repaving the road was not an option because the water and sewer services would have to wait, and the township had no intention of paving the road, then ripping it up again.
Centre Wellington applied for three grants under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund. It first priority was the Elora sewage treatment plant. That was rejected, but the second priority, Church Street in Elora, was accepted.
Then, after believing the program was over, township officials were asked to re-submit the request for Sideroad 19, and that funding was then provided. Ross-Zuj credited Chong and his office staff for continually pushing in Ottawa to obtain the grant.
“Michael Chong’s office has worked tirelessly,” she said. “His office had kept the profile alive.”
However, she doubts there will be any funding for the nearly $10-million sewage plant project, which will likely have to be paid for by the township, unless other grant programs are started.
Ross-Zuj said she heard recently there is going to be a major study of the water quality in the Grand River, and township officials will keep alert for any opportunities available.
The Fergus and Elora sewage treatment plants both empty into the Grand River. The better the quality of their effluent, the better the quality of water in the river.
