Money from province has arrived for Holland Marsh drainage work
By Bill Rea

Mayor Margaret Black addressed last Wednesday's press conference, flanked by Bradford - West Gwillimbury Councillor John McCallum, who chairs the joint municipal services board, King Councillor Jack Rupke, vice-chair of the board, Bradford - West Gwillimbury Mayor Doug White and Daniel Gianasi, constituency assistant to Oak Ridges - Markham MPP Dr. Helena Jaczek.

The province promised money for the work on the Holland Marsh Drainage system, and it's been delivered.

Mayor Margaret Black made the announcement last Wednesday at a press conference in Bradford, celebrating the contribution from Queen's Park.

The province announced late last month it will be putting up $10.2 million for the reconstruction of the Holland Marsh Drainage System canals.

The money is coming from the province's Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative (MIII), which is seeing $450 million being distributed in one-time grants throughout Ontario.

Work on the drainage system is a joint project between King and the Town of Bradford - West Gwillimbury, and the two municipalities set up a joint municipal services board last year.

King will be getting $6.625 million, while Bradford - West Gwillimbury will receive the other $3.575 million.

Black declared the money had been deposited in the necessary accounts while speaking at last week's press conference.

"So it's accumulating interest as we speak," added Bradford - West Gwillimbury Mayor Doug White.

"We're just so excited by this whole project," Black declared, reiterating it's been in the works a long time. "I thought we'd never get here."

Black also praised the work of Oak Ridges - Markham MPP Dr. Helena Jaczek, especially in the last couple of weeks. "She really did a great deal for us in that final crunch."

White agreed Jaczek had done a lot of work behind the scenes.

"So finally, we're getting down to moving forward on a much-needed, and longoverdue project," he added.

White also observed that the province has been looking for partnership projects to grant the funding. "If there is a project that has the finger prints of many people, this is the one," he remarked, pointing out both York Region and Simcoe County have been involved, as well as the local farming community and host of provincial ministries.

Daniel Gianasi, constituency assistant to Jaczek, expressed how pleased Jaczek was when she heard the money was going to be available. "She really saw it as a very important project," he remarked.

It's estimated the project is going to cost between $17-and-$20 million, and White said the work is going to be done in 14 phases over seven years.

Bradford - West Gwillimbury Councillor John McCallum, who chairs the joint municipal services board, expressed a little surprise that things moved as quickly as they did. He praised the staff work involved in going after MIII funding so fast.

While the money for the province won't cover the whole cost, he indicated putting it into an account will help it grow some, thus cutting the required contributions for other sources.

"What a wonderful economic driver we have for the community," he declared.

Construction costs are expected to change over the next seven years, making it difficult to nail down a final cost for the project. McCallum said all the affected players will be expected to contribute to the rest of the cost, including Marsh farmers, landowners (including municipalities), etc. "All the players will have to put up the balance of the share," he said.

King Councillor Jack Rupke, vice-chair of the board, said farmers on the Marsh have been worried about what all this would cost them. "There's a tremendous amount of relief," he declared.

The agricultural sector is looking at some rough times, he said, pointing to drops in commodity prices, so this news is really helpful.

"We're working well together, and I think everyone recognizes that," he added.