DGR, natural gas are major projects for Kincardine in 2017, says Eadie

Last year was a busy one for the Municipality of Kincardine, with exciting things happening; and 2017 will feature more of the same, with a focus on bringing natural gas to the area, and receiving the final decision on Ontario Power Generation (OPG)'s Deep Geological Repository (DGR) for low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste at the Bruce Nuclear site.

That's the word from mayor Anne Eadie who offers a summary of 2016, and a look at the major projects for this year.

Among the highlights in 2016, was the new community economic development committee.

“We've been reorganizing it since 2015 and we've come a long way in 2016,” said Eadie, adding that the committee includes a good combination of community members, council and staff, and other organizations, such as the Kincardine and District Chamber of Commerce, the Kincardine Business Improvement Area (BIA), and Bruce County council and staff.

“We have sub-committees, for tourism, business development, and so on,” she said. “They do the bulk of the work and then we all meet as a group. Last year, we met once a month to get things up and running. We have a lot to do in a short amount of time to respond to the economic opportunities at the Bruce Nuclear plant.”

Crucial to any economic development strategy, is the proposed master plan for water and sewer for the entire municipality, said Eadie, slated to be completed this year.

Plus, Bruce Power and Bruce County are working together on an economic development initiative to help communities take advantage of the opportunities from the refurbishment project, Eadie said. “It's important to promote growth in an organized fashion.”

One major objective this year is to bring natural gas to Kincardine, Huron-Kinloss and Arran-Elderslie, she said.

“We had hoped to have things further along, but we were delayed by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) generic hearing in April. We are also waiting for the provincial government to provide guidelines for the $230-million in grants available for natural gas development; we expect that to happen this year.”

The announcement by Bruce Power of the major component replacement at the Bruce site is a great opportunity for this area to prosper even more, said Eadie.

“That will have a major impact on our community,” she said. “We appreciate Bruce Power's economic development initiative, working with the community to see how we can all benefit locally.”

As for projects in Kincardine, Eadie said she is most pleased to see the completion of the Huron Ridge infrastructure reconstruction which was an entire retrofit of the servicing installed in the 1970s. “It was a lengthy project, but it was successful.”

The leachate management plant at the Kincardine Waste Management Centre in Armow, was up and running last year. “It is a great facility,” said Eadie, “and not only is it protecting the environment, but it is efficient and economical, and we are one of only a few communities in Ontario to have such a plant.”

In addition, last year saw the completion of repairs to the water towers in Kincardine and Tiverton, the reconstruction and paving of the municipal parking lot east of the downtown core in Kincardine, and the hiring of the new public works director, Adam Weishar.

The municipality continues to work on the eradication of phragmites, Eadie said, and saw great results last year, thanks to the hard work of staff and the lakeshore residents.

Physician recruitment was also a success, with five new doctors added to the roster last year. “We thank Bruce Power and the Town of Saugeen Shores for working with us on this initiative,” said Eadie. “Besides the recruitment of new doctors, we have to consider the retention of our younger doctors.”

Last year, the municipality put $300,000 in financial support toward a study for the redevelopment of the Kincardine hospital. “This year, we hope to see approval of that project from the ministry of health.”

And 2016 saw work completed on the conversion of Bruce Telecom to a municipal services corporation from a board; that should be completed this year, said Eadie.

In addition, the municipality is working on plans to improve the entrance to the Davidson Centre, she said, as well as developing on-line registration of recreation programs. “We have to keep up with constantly changing technology.”

Looking toward 2017, Eadie said the number-one priority is getting the natural gas project back on schedule.

And next in line is finally getting a decision from the federal environment minister on OPG's proposed DGR. “That ruling is expected in August,” she said, “and that will determine if we go ahead with a new Centre of Energy Excellence.”

The municipality is also working on upgrades to the Connaught Park pumping station to support future economic development at the north end of the Town of Kincardine.

“And we have already begun the budget process which continues this month,” said Eadie. “There are numerous public works and recreation projects which are dependent on this process. We have many projects we would like to do, provided we have the funding.”

She said 2017 will be a pivotal year, as the municipality determines the future of natural gas, the OPG DGR project, and Bruce Telecom.

“As mayor, I still find the job as exciting as when I first started,” she said. “This is a great community, and I thank all the volunteers who help make it such a wonderful place to live. I'm constantly amazed by how they step up and do such tremendous things. Sometimes, they're not even organized events, just small things like people helping people – shovelling a driveway, holding a benefit dance, or fund-raising to help those in need.”

Eadie said the Kincardine Regional Silver Stick hockey tournament, held at the end of December, is a perfect example of a fine event that brings people to the area in the winter.

“There are such incredible economic spin-offs from that, and it's such fun for the players.

“We have many events like that throughout the year. Thanks to all the people who work so hard to make a difference, in a positive way, in the Municipality of Kincardine.

“I wish everyone good health in 2017 and enjoy all the amenities that Kincardine has to offer.”