Welcome to the Municipality of Tweed!

I will begin by wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous 2020. I would like to thank my colleagues on Tweed Municipal Council for all their work over the past year. It has been an honour and pleasure working with them. I would also like to thank all our employees for their tremendous support and hard work. Council sets our policies and priorities but staff are the ones who make it happen. I would like to welcome our new CAO/Treasurer Gloria Raybone to our team and I am looking forward to working with her.

We have had many Successes last year. Some of them are in no particular order

• Working with consultants we have revised our Asset Management plan and completed a Roads study and Water and Waste Water study that directly relate to the Asset Management plan. This Plan that will assist us as we make decisions about our future needs.
• We received funding from both the Federal and Provincial Governments for the Hawkins Bay Bridge which was closed in 2018. Construction will begin as soon as possible in the spring.
• We purchased a new grader with a packer. We also changed the composition and the type of aggregate which along with the packer has greatly helped with improved road conditions.
• We continually add to our recreation area and this year the addition of new seniors fitness equipment has been a great asset and is used by many. We intend to put a cover over it in 2020.
• The past year also saw the opening of the Rashotte Home Hardware Building Centre. This had been a long process for the Rashotte family so we are very pleased that it has finally been completed.
• Completion of Spring Street reconstruction with new sidewalks.
• I would like to say thank you to all our Volunteers who not only supported our Municipal events but also organized their own successful activities. There are too many to mention and I may forget one. Thank you to our Hamlet committees who look after the halls and beautification of their communities.
• In 2020 council our main project will be the addition of a new cell for our waste water system. The process has been on going for many years but this year we intend to see it through. We have already accepted a proposal for the construction of a new building to house the mechanics for the aeration system. We will go ahead with the project funding or no funding. We will be applying for the Infrastructure Canada Funding -Green Stream - deadline is mid January. We have also asked for a delegation with the Minister of Infrastructure at the upcoming ROMA Conference to explain the necessity of this project. This new cell will allow our Municipality to expand and see more development.
• We also look forward to again partnering with the Tweed Kiwanis Club on the Accessible Playground at the Tweed Park. This is over a $300,000 project so there is a fundraising campaign going on. If anyone wishes to donate you can do so at the Municipal Office.
• We also intend to reconstruct a much needed portion of Marlbank Road.
• We will continue to carry out the regular maintenance throughout the Municipality and make upgrades to our Parks and waste Site.
• I have said this before but we are a small Municipality with over 600 km of roads and 52 bridges. The new asset management plan and roads study will help us prioritize our projects. Council has also been discussing ways to facilitate the ever changing climate conditions and how we can improve our services to our residents.

These are a few of the issues we will address this year.  I close by again wishing everyone a Happy New Year.