Chatham-Kent’s Mayor wants to invest now to save later.
As part of the Linear Infrastructure Capital Construction Projects, Mayor Darrin Canniff put forth his own motion at Monday’s council meeting. The Mayor has asked municipal staff report back on an investment and debenture plan of approximately $30 million to fast-track the conversion of gravel roads in Chatham-Kent.
“What this proposes is that we look at taking a debenture and paying it over the next number of years but put the roads in place now,” explained Canniff.
“Deliver an improved rural transportation network off the bat. I’ll leave it to the report to say how fast we can accelerate it.”
Canniff believed this would secure pricing and keep costs low as the cost of building roads are continuously going up across the board.
“By doing this we are going to lock in the price at today’s dollars and be able to put a lot more roads in place,” said Canniff.
A debenture is typically an unsecured loan and a way for companies to borrow money from people or institutions. In return, they would pay interest to the investors.
The motion passed unanimously, 16-0.
