Photo/DAN PELTON LOCAL POLITICIANS gathered at Orangeville Town Hall Friday for the announcement of grants for local infrastructure projects. Left to right: East Garafraxa mayor Allen Taylor, Mono mayor Lorie Haddock, Orangeville councillor Sylvia Bradley, Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson, Orangeville mayor Rob Adams, Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones and Orangeville deputy mayor Warren Maycock. Dufferin County got a strong indicator last week that the tap has been turned on and the infrastructure funds are starting to flow.

New federal and provincial grants will finance two-thirds of nearly $12 million in infrastructure construction projects. Representatives on hand for Friday's announcements in Orangeville and Shelburne were also confident more money will come from the senior governments' stimulus programs.

Further funding announcements of this type are expected after the Ontario government announces its budget March 26.

Following are the total federal/ provincial grants and the estimated total cost of the various municipal projects. In each case, the federal and provincial governments are each contributing one-third of the projected cost, with the municipalities responsible for the balance.

Orangeville ($3.3 million of $4.95 million), Shelburne ($2.78 million of $4.17 million), Mulmur ($1.2 million of $1.8 million), Mono ($433,300 of $650,000) and East Garafraxa ($230,000 of $344,000).

Under this agreement, the municipalities pay the cost of the projects, then receive the funding from the senior governments. Should the costs be lower, those grants will be lowered accordingly. Should the costs be more, the municipality is responsible for the cost overruns.

In the case of Orangeville, the funds will be taken from the town's $4.7 million water and sewer reserve fund.

Orangeville's funds will be directed to the reconstruction upgrades to its South Park subdivision, built about 40 years ago around Myr Morrow Park east of Dawson Road. Mono will be fortifying Bridge 26 on the Mono-Adjala Town Line and East Garafraxa will pave a 1.1-kilometre section of the A Line to the western entrance to its Garafraxa Woods subdivision.

In Shelburne, the funds will be used for a new long-term water supply well and a universal metering system. In Mulmur, there will be infrastructure improvements on Second Line EHS between Terra Nova and Tenth Side Road.

"This reaffirms the importance of partnerships," Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson said Friday. "It reminds us that, to get things done, we have to work together. We're cutting the red tape, creating jobs for Ontarians and getting that shovel into the ground."

Mr. Tilson also noted that the partisan politics in Ottawa have, in his opinion, been put aside in order to quicken the funding process and enable projects to commence.

"I've never seen Conservatives and Liberals so friendly to each other," said the Tory MP.

"I have to give credit to Michael Ignatieff and the official opposition. They've been supporting (infrastructure initiatives in) our budget."

Regarding the South Park funding in Orangeville, Mayor Rob Adams said the funds "provide the town with an opportunity to renew services in a subdivision that was built in the 1960s. The cost to maintain aging infrastructure is daunting so this funding assistance is indeed welcome news."

Town Public Works director Jack Tupling says the first things that need to be done to get the project moving are to set up a project management team and to procure a consultant for design purposes.

If everything goes smoothly, Mr. Tupling says the South Park project should go to tender in June, have construction start in July and be finished by early December. Surface asphalting of the various roads would be done in the spring of 2010.