TOWN SAYS IT CONTINUES TO MAINTAIN ROAD CONDITIONS

OUT OF THE 2021 BUDGET, NEARLY $6 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED FOR ROAD MAINTENANCE. TOWN SPENT JUST OVER $5 MILLION

The Town of Huntsville has a process in place to inspect road conditions once a complaint is received from the public. And if a road meets the criteria for repairs, contractors are sent out as soon as possible.

It's a process that investigates every single road complaint, said Huntsville's

director of operations and protective services Tarmo Uukkivi.

"Throughout the year, we have road supervisors that are checking the conditions of the roads," said Uukkivi.

According to Uukkivi, the town allocates a set budget for repairs that must be followed when deciding which roads to work on. Last year, the town set aside $5,702,802 in its budget for road work expenses. It ended up spending $5,040,356.

The reason for spending less than what was set aside, said Uukkivi, may have to do with grants awarded to the town by the provincial and federal governments. He said the grants are included in the budget and are used only for special projects outside of the usual road work, such as improving conditions to better deal with storms and drainage.

"Because of the grant process, there may be an issue with timing where we were unable to spend all of the grants in a given calendar year," said Uukkivi.

"That would be unallocated until the following year when we can pick up the work again."

The discussion on budgeting for road work comes after members of the District of Muskoka's engineering and public works committee were informed less money was spent than what was budgeted, at a meeting on March 23.

A preliminary forecast of last year's budget found the district had a favourable variance of $4 million. This suggests the district spent less and earned more than projected in its 2021 budget.

In an emailed statement on March 24, district communication officer Molly Ross said the district "spent less on winter (road) maintenance than budgeted." According to her, this was due to lower snowfall amounts across the region.

As for the importance of road maintenance in Huntsville, Uukkivi said the town outsources road work to contractors and ensures that roads meet strict standards. Contractors are inspected before carrying out their work, during their work, and after the work is completed.

"Huntsville is constantly looking for opportunities for improvement and ways to do things better," said Uukkivi. "Public input helps us to identify what is a priority in this town and we encourage people to keep communicating with us."