By Emily Stonehouse
Anyone who has watched any Dysart council meetings in recent history would know about the importance of bridges.
And this past week, the Paudash Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club approached the local council for a financial ask.
Jon Cumming, the president of the club, brought a delegation forward to highlight the need for a new bridge over Allen Creek, near Fishtail Lake. Cumming identified this as a very important bridge along the trail network. “It’s been around quite a while and it’s at end of life,” he said.
Cumming noted that the current bridge is quite old, with the organization working for a number of years to determine the proper replacement approach, get permits and to secure funding to pay for the project. The Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) has approved the significant portion of the funding required, with the balance coming from the local club and from their district office.
The 90 foot bridge will require complete removal, with the placement of a new bridge in the exact same place. With back and forth between organizations, there was some debate around placement of the new structure. “In a late-breaking development, in order to facilitate the installation of the new bridge, the contractor is recommending that we place the new bridge right beside the old bridge, and then remove the old bridge afterwards,” explained Cumming.
“We are fine with this approach, but believe that it is prudent to have enough of a survey done to ensure that the new bridge is placed completely within the road allowance and is not encroaching on neighbouring properties.”
In order to move ahead with the proposed project, the survey is coming in as a new line item for the budget. “The funding approval we have does not include money for this survey,” explained Cumming. “We are hoping that the municipality might be able to contribute to this project by paying for the survey. Our club has already put in significant money towards this project and the OFSC has already advised us that they cannot pay for it.”
The cost of the survey to ascertain the property lines near the bridge would cost upwards of $2,600, which the Paudash Trail Blazers were looking to receive from council.
Mayor Walt McKechnie inquired about timing for when the club would need confirmation around potential funding. “The sooner the better,” chuckled Cumming. “We’re hoping that the project is going to begin this month.”
“Well, you’ve got to replace it,” said McKechnie. “And needless to say, snowmobiling is so darn important to the economy around here, so we’ve just got to find the money.”
Councillor Barry Boice inquired about where that amount could come from in the Dysart budget. Brayden Robinson, the treasurer for the township, noted that there was some room in the planning and consulting budget, generally held for legal fees and service.
Due to close proximity to Highlands East, Nancy Wood Roberts inquired about whether the neighbouring municipality would be contributing to the cost. “Because the bridge is in Dysart, we did not consider approaching them for that,” explained Cumming. “We’ve asked them for money in other areas, and we’re hoping they’re going to do a bit of work on a different trail in our system this year.”
Councillor Tammy Donaldson asked about the total cost of the 90 foot bridge improvement project, which Cumming confirmed was $225,000.
“We’re all in favour, Jon,” said McKechnie. “So start building.”
Council approved the request from the Paudash Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club, and agreed to contribute municipal funds towards survey costs in the amount of $2938.
