ALMA – Work on a $237,640 revitalization project in downtown Alma is expected to begin later this month.
New decorative light posts, banners, holiday lights, benches and waste receptacles are planned for the hamlet's central area.
Similar improvements have been completed in Drayton and Moorefield in past years, Mapleton economic development and marketing Aly Cripps said.
"So we are excited for Alma to look just as beautiful," she continued.
"This is one for the last big projects in Mapleton to get all of our downtowns up to the beautiful standards we have."
The project is also getting a boost from the provincial government. On Friday, Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece announced the province would contribute $15,792 toward the project. The largest cost, the decorative lights, were not eligible for funding, Cripps said. Mapleton will be responsible for the remaining around $221,850.
“Our government is committed to the success of rural and small-town Ontario,” Pettapiece said in a media release. “I have always supported this type of funding, which directly supports local priorities in our area.”
“I want to congratulate the township on their leadership in identifying the need,” he added.
The provincial funding will come from Ontario’s Rural Economic Development program. The program will allow rural communities to better respond to the local economic impacts of the pandemic by enabling them to address barriers to economic development and better positioning them for economic growth and job creation, the release said.
