The Town of Erin has received $47,765 of the $26 million in provincial funding aimed at improving municipal main streets.
The funding from Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is administered through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).
According to an April 17 report to council, the funds can be put toward the community improvement plan, including facade improvements, preservation and adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, space conversion, accessibility enhancements and more.
The money can also be put towards activities to support municipal physical infrastructure such as signage, streetscaping, and marketing.
“The staff recommendation is to allocate these funds towards the community improvement plan,” said director of finance Ursula D’Angelo.
“I think this is a wonderful opportunity to take this money and leverage local projects with our businesses in town so that we can conduct the downtown revitalization at less cost to the taxpayers,” said councillor John Brennan.
Funds received from the program can only be used for expenses incurred after April 1 and all funds must be spent by March 31, 2020.
Council approved the recommendation to sign an agreement with AMO for the funds.
