Image: Cyclist on the Menesetung Bridge, Goderich.
Goderich Town Council has chosen to direct staff to give a contribution from the municipality to help with concrete repairs of the Menesetung Bridge.
During discussion, members of council came up with ideas for how much money would be contributed, or how that money would be dispersed.
The original request from the Menesetung Bridge Association was to help cover a portion of the repair work, which would cost a total of $600-700,000.
Council approved a $50,000 contribution, which will be paid from the Community Economic Development Reserve, and be repaid from the Community Grant Budget Allocation, which will be repaid at $10,000 per year over the next five years.
In February, 2024, the directors of the Menesetung Bridge Association advised the Town Council that they had applied for a Federal Development grant to assist with major repairs to the concrete piers of the Menesetung Bridge. However, in order to get approval for the grant, they would have needed to show the government that they had secured funding from community groups or municipal governments to fund a majority of the repairs.
Goderich council deferred to staff, to try and find viable ways for funding to be given, but as there was no wiggle room in the 2024 budget, which had just been adopted, council was unable to say yes.
The federal government had informed the association at the time that they had a strong application, but they weren’t able to get the grant funding without also having secured funding from the community.
The bridge association also made presentations to Huron County council, as well last Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, particularly since the bridge is between Goderich and ACW.
ACW has also agreed to a $50,000 contribution.