Looking back on the past year, Stirling-Rawdon Mayor Bob Mullin says the township was able to complete several projects however getting the work they need done in a timely fashion remains difficult.
2024 marked the end of a major multi-year project for Stirling-Rawdon.
Mullin says work on the downtown was completed after nearly three years.
“So that was replacing the majority of the water pipes in the downtown core, the storm water, new traffic lights and upgrades to the main pumping station. So that was probably the biggest project that Stirling-Rawdon has ever taken on. A little over five million of which the township financed pretty well all of it.”
He says small communities like Stirling-Rawdon are left to fund 100 per cent of their infrastructure.
“We’re really stretched budget-wise to look after that. We’ve had a fair bit of growth. We passed the new development charges by-law, brought that up to date. So we do what we can with what we got but the province has really dropped the ball when it comes to the smaller rural municipalities.”
Mullin says it was also disappointing that they weren’t even invited to apply for crucial provincial housing funding because of their size.
Other projects this year included the resurfacing of Wingfield Road, culvert replacement on Stirling-Rawdon Road 14 and upgrades like new windows and accessible doors for the Stirling Festival Theatre and Library.
