Infrastructure funds from the federal and provincial governments totalling $2.2 million will be used by the Town of Orangeville for a rehabilitation project at the Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre and reconstruction of William Street.

The federal-provincial funding will be augmented by town funding to fulfill the cost of the Tony Rose and William Street projects, projected to be $1.5 million and $1.8 million respectively.

Phase one of a rehabilitation project for Tony Rose Memorial will include parking lot reconstruction and exterior lighting upgrades, front entrance improvements, air quality and health and safety upgrades (roof guards, fire alarm upgrades, arena safety netting), accessibility upgrades and improvements to the main floor area, banquet hall and second floor washrooms, installation of a small elevator in the lobby, electrical upgrades, and steel siding replacement/repair.

The Town's contribution of $500,000 is to be funded with $460,000 for infrastructure matching in the 2009 capital budget and $40,000 from the capital surplus from a recent project where a dehumidifying system was installed at the centre.

Orangeville parks and recreation director Sonja Pritchard calls the planned work on Tony Rose "a good start" and adds that the eventual aim is to make the facility totally accessible.

"(Phase One) won't address all the accessibility issues, but it is certainly a good start," says Ms. Pritchard. "The main focus is to make the facility completely accessible."

She adds that the drive for accessibility is motivated, in part, by the fact the facility is frequently used by seniors.

The William Street project, where each level of government contributing $600,000, involves the replacement of the water main and sanitary sewer on William Street from Town Line to Church and the reconstruction of the road to current municipal standards.

The Town's portion of this project will be funded from water and sewer use rates, and other Town funds that are currently available such as gas tax and other reserve funds, but that distribution will be decided by Council.

"This is a significant announcement for the Town of Orangeville," said Mayor Rob Adams, noting the federal/provincial funding partnership will permit the Town to upgrade the Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre, making it accessible and much more inviting. "The water main and sanitary sewer on William Street are both over 50 years old and in poor condition. Their replacement will be an environmental and financial benefit to the municipality.

To fulfill the local commitment, the town has used up the $4.7 million it had in reserves for water and sewer improvements and it is projected that the water and sewer reserve will have a deficit of about $800,000 by year's end.

It is anticipated, however, that money from water user rates will be transferred to the reserve as part of the 2010 budget, a move that is expected to put the water and sewer reserve back into a surplus situation next year.

The town will also be assisted by the $377,000 it raised for cash reserves by passing an average 2.5-percent town-only property tax increase in 2009.