Russell moving forward with its paving project
During last council meeting held on April 18, it was decided that Russell Township would move forward with the extension of the paved trail between Forced Road and Route 200 in Russell village.
“The fitness trail is a true gem in our municipality”, explained Amanda Simard, councilor and chair of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. “It is heavily used by our community, as well as by tourists outside the area. We are always looking to improve it. That’s why we wanted to extend the trail even further than where it currently ends in Russell.
At the March 20 council meeting, a petition of 270 signatures (230 residents, 40 nonresidents) was presented, requesting that the trail not be paved between those sections. Following its reception, during the April 3 meeting, councilors Amanda Simard and Cindy Saucier asked for further investigation as to know, among other things, if the grant could be used for other purposes.
“I thought it fair to hear the arguments and consider the options”, continued Simard. “Therefore I asked the administration to provide us an information report to get the facts straight, and not leave questions unanswered, in order to properly conclude the debate.”
It was originally led to believe that the amount of $85,250 for the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure received from FedDev (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario) could somewhat be amended. “We have verified with Mr. Patrick Giroux, Business Case analyst, from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and he confirmed that the money might be used for another project directly linked to the trail”, stated the report presented to council by Director of Parks & Recreation, Céline Guitard.
However, council quickly did an about turn after acknowledging a letter from Francis Drouin, MP for Glengarry-PrescottRussell, stating that “…should the municipality decide to not proceed with this project, the amount will go to another project that is not located in your community”.
This project has been on the Township of Russell Official Plan as a proposed trail extension since 2005. Furthermore, it has been added in the United Counties of Prescott-Russell paving tender in 2017. The tender was awarded to Cornwall Gravel on March 16, 2017.
“Following the report and our discussions, I believe it is better to continue with the paving of this section”, added Simard. “It is part of a more elaborate plan for the trail and our global vision to better serve our increasingly active community.”