At the regular council meeting on November 23rd Wilmot Council had one of the most rigorous debates and discussions on the condition and future of our gravel roads in the last 6 years.
A delegation from the Bean Rd. (west) area made a very well researched presentation highlighting the concerns they have with the condition of their road. We heard and saw issues about the quality of the road materials and base as well as the future plans Wilmot has for the road itself. Currently, Bean Rd. (west) is identified on our 10-year capital plan for tar & chipping in seven years.
For the past four years, Wilmot has been working off of a 10-year plan for all of our capital projects, including road work. This allows us to properly and responsibly plan and budget for projects for subsequent years. In addition to the 10-year plan, Council also adopted a standardized matrix that is used to rate and compare each of our roads against the other - which is designed to help eliminate a level of arbitrariness in deciding when to tar & chip any specific road. I remember quite well that when I joined council the existing road-work plan had most of the roadwork taking place in the north of the Township and moving south. The matrix and the plan have eliminated this and we now are better equipped to pave a road with better data and reasons before us.
Having said that, something just isn't right on Bean Rd. and it is incumbent on us to find out what that is and have it fixed. I look forward to working with my colleagues and my neighbours to solve this problem once and for all - as a follow up to the council meeting we are meeting with the delegation in the next week to figure this all out.
