Middlesex County delegation attends AMO 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Middlesex County delegation attends AMO 2023

MIDDLESEX COUNTY (August 21, 2023): Delegates from Middlesex County attended the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s (AMO) 2023 conference in London, Ontario where they took the opportunity to engage with provincial officials, advocate for County initiatives, and address pressing infrastructure challenges facing the region.

The Middlesex County delegation, led by Warden Cathy Burghardt-Jesson, Deputy Warden, Aina DeViet, County Engineer, Chris Traini, and General Manager of Finance, Cindy Howard, highlighted the County's vital role in maintaining the region's infrastructure and emphasized the need for sustained funding and strategic planning to ensure the continued prosperity of local communities.

The County’s Roads Department maintains more than 856km of roads, 254 bridges and culverts, and facilitates the tourism signage program across the County. Delegates met with the Parliamentary Assistant, representing the Minister of Infrastructure, Amarjot Sandhu, to outline the looming core infrastructure in need of replacements between 2031 and 2046, at which time a large number of bridges and culverts will reach their service life. Many bridges were built in the period following World War II and are approaching the end of their expected service life of 75 to 100 years.

Delegates urged the province to establish a mechanism to maintain and index the existing levels of Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) formula funding and release a long-term funding allocation schedule. The lack of a long-term funding OCIF allocation schedule inhibits strategic asset management planning and is contrary to asset management best practices. The re-establishment of the OCIF Application Component along with the OCIF Formula Component will provide the opportunity for municipalities to strategically utilize resources to complete high-value core infrastructure capital projects.

QUOTE:

“We recognize that substantial investments are imperative for the County’s infrastructure. Middlesex County, like many other municipalities, is confronted with the reality of aging infrastructure. We stand united with municipalities from across the province, collectively voicing the importance of sustained funding and strategic planning to guarantee the well-being of our communities.” - Warden Cathy Burghardt-Jesson

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