Halton Hills Newspapers

Independent & Free Press (Georgetown, ON), 9 Feb 2007, p. 8

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Four-vehicle smash-up A woman was taken to Georgetown Hospital with unknown injuries as a result of a four-vehicle accident at the intersection of Maple Ave. and Guelph St. Thursday afternoon. At press time police were still investigating the accident that occurred at approximately 2:30 p.m., but a spokesperson said the involved vehicles included a pickup truck, SUV, car and a gravel truck. The driver of the pickup truck, who was attempting to turn onto Maple Ave. from Guelph St. was charged with making an unsafe turn. Town shut out-- again-- in bid for funding CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Halton Hills is not getting its fair share of the federal/provincial funding says Mayor Rick Bonnette, after the Town was "shut out" for funding for the third year in a row. COMRIF (Canadian Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Funding) is a combined federal and provincial program distributing $93 million to 72 communities for infrastructure renewal projects involving water and wastewater services, waste management and bridges and roads. In 2006, nearly 300 applications were received for the third year of the project. Bonnette said in first year of the program-- 2004-- $124 million was awarded but only 1.4 per cent to the 22 municipalities in the GTA (about 16 per cent of the nation's population). In the second year, only 1.8 per cent of the funding found its way to the GTA municipalities and they fared even worse in 2006, with only 0.007 per cent of funding. The Town's projects were: gravel and surface treatment of rural roads in 2004, reconstruction of Main St., Georgetown in 2005 and refurbishment of the 27 Sideroad bridge in 2006. Selection is done through a competitive merit-based process. "The bottom line is that I don't think we ever had a shot at it in the first place, when I read those percentages," said the mayor who pointed out the significant staff time involved in filling out the more than 40-page application form. "It's such a waste to do this by competitive process, and I don't know what the rationale is for it," agreed Wards 3&4 Regional Councillor Jane Fogal. "It's certainly not working... and it makes me angry that they continue on with it." She suggested a letter be sent to the provincial and federal governments, expressing the Town's disappointment and wish that the wealth be shared through a more stable funding process that the Town can count on. Bonnette agreed, saying that the timing couldn't be any better with the approaching provincial election (Oct. 10, 2007). At the Feb. 5 meeting, council approved a resolution from Councillor Dave Kentner to seek reimbursement for the engineering staff time required to fill out the competition forms. The letter will be sent to a myriad of politicos including the federal and provincial representatives. (Cynthia Gamble can be reached at cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Region's new information guide is now available Halton has launched a new directory of regional government information for local residents. The publication, entitled Your Halton, was to be delivered to homes recently with the 2007 Waste Management Calendar . "Halton Regional Council and staff are committed to providing businesses and residents with quality customer service in an accessible, cost-effective and cost-efficient manner," said Regional Chair Gary Carr. "Your Halton is an easy-to-use reference guide with information on the services Halton Region provides that enable you to enjoy a high quality of life in Halton." The directory contains contact information for other services like the Halton Regional Police Service, local municipalities, hospitals, transit and more. For additional copies of Your Halton, contact Access Halton at 905-825-6000 or e-mail accesshalton@halton.ca.

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