Big bucks for Middleton, AR, Kingston

By Lawrence Powell

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

Three levels of government will be investing more than $5 million in infrastructure projects in Middleton, Annapolis Royal, and Kingston, it was announced Saturday morning in Middleton by West Nova MP Greg Kerr and provincial Minister of Natural Resources Carolyn Bolivar-Getson on behalf of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations Minister Richard Hurlburt.

Middleton’s long-awaited waste water treatment facility project, costed at $3,936,900, will be funded equally by Ottawa, the province, and the town with the new facility benefiting about 1,000 households by providing enhanced treatment of waste water.

Annapolis Royal is ready to roll on a $1-million project to replace aging water and waste water mains along St. Patrick’s Lane as well as Ritchie and Grange streets. Twenty-four homes will benefit from the improvements to their drinking water, plus improved fire protection.

Kingston will extend its waste water main along Pine Ridge Avenue, connecting four new homes that currently have aging and malfunctioning sewage systems. That project will cost $138,300 to complete.

Annapolis Royal Mayor Phil Roberts said the funds will help complete an infrastructure improvement program the town started 21 years ago.

Kingston village commission chair Steve Nickerson said the funding for his community will help the village better position itself to provide a service to residents who were somehow missed in the past. “We’ve been working for a year and a half for that day, and here it is,” he said, adding that the money about to be spent will create jobs and is an investment in the community.

Middleton Mayor Calvin Eddy said the town is ready to proceed with the sewer treatment facility.

The town has been under environmental order to upgrade its sewer system that has been contaminating the Annapolis River. “These investments are part of our new infrastructure program Building for Growth,” said Bolivar-Getson. “Building For Growth will provide safe drinking water, improve waste water systems, improve our roads and bridges, and build classrooms. Most importantly, Building for Growth will create jobs now. It will stimulate our economy.”

She said that for every infrastructure dollar invested, $1.5 is generated in the local economy. “Today’s investment translates to more than $7.5 million towards our communities. This investment will help keep our communities vibrant and healthy. It will help keep Nova Scotians working in our communities.”

Kerr noted that the federal contribution comes from the Building Canada Fund. “This plan is about providing long-term, stable, and predictable funding to help meet infrastructure needs across Canada,” he said, describing the $33-billion plan as the most ambitious infrastructure renewal effort in half a century. “During this time of economic uncertainty, municipalities need to be able to count on stable, predictable, and long-term funding,” Kerr said. “We will continue to work with our provincial and municipal partners to identify and expedite priority projects and ensure they become a reality over the next two construction seasons.”