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Township gives pre-budget approval for train bridge repairs Council for Huron-Kinloss have given the green light for about $7,000 of next year’s tax money to be spent on repairing the train bridge in Lucknow, in order for it to be ready for the snowmobile season. The abandoned C.N. railway bridge, a 100-foot span, used as a pedestrian bridge on one of the township’s walking trails until it was set ablaze on Sunday, May 6, at about 7:30 p.m. The cause was arson. The repairs for the bridge were not covered by insurance and repairs were not in the township’s 2007 budget, so pedestrians and hikers used an alternate route to get to the other side of the river. Parks and recreation’s Mike Fair however, told council at its Nov 5 meeting in Ripley that that he recently met on-site at the burned bridge with Rick MacArthur, and Andy Williams from the local snowmobile club and that they wanted the bridge to be repaired so it could be used for snowmobiles. In previous years, the club used the bridge in its trail system. He provided the club members with the engineer’s report from B.M. Ross and Associates and discussed the repairs required for the bridge. He reported that the costs to the taxpayer would be in the neighbourhood of $7,000 for materials needed for the repairs and that “The cost for repairs is not included in our budget.” Council had concerns as to whether the township was financially able to make the repairs this year, however Fair said “the snowmobile club would like to complete this project as soon as possible,” adding that the township is fortunate to have this support from the club. He said that if the township paid the $7,000, the snowmobile club would provide the volunteers to do the work. His report indicated that if volunteers did the work, the township would save as much as $3,000. Council agreed to give pre-budget approval, (to be included in the 2008 budget), for materials, which would come from the 2008 tax revenues, saving the township the cost of hiring a professional contractor. There’s no indication as to whether anything will be cut from the 2008 parks and recreation budget to cover the costs, if monies will be drawn from other departments, or if it will be necessary to draw additional money from that tax base, as the first of the budget meetings have yet to be held, It is also unknown if the club will hold any fundraisers, such as dances, raffles, etc to help cover the costs. |
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