United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) council has decided more information is needed before a decision is made to transfer Main Street in Hawkesbury to the regional government.
Currently, the road is the responsibility of the Town of Hawkesbury, but town council and Mayor Robert Lefebvre have requested that the UCPR consider assuming responsibility for the street within town limits.
On Wednesday, August 27, UCPR council adopted a motion calling for discussions between the administrations of the UCPR and Town of Hawkesbury, and a further report on the logistical and financial implications of transferring the street to the UCPR.
A report prepared for UCPR council by Director of Public Works Jérémie Bouchard included four options. The preferred option by staff was for a connecting link agreement between the UCPR and Town of Hawkesbury to support ongoing capital investments and improvements for Main Street. Reconstruction of the street is required between McGill Street and West Street. Under the connecting link proposal, the UCPR’s Municipal Road Transfer Fund, which is typically allocated to all municipalities, however, would fully be reallocated towards Hawkesbury Main Street rehabilitation projects to help mitigate tax increases. As a result, the Municipal Road Transfer Fund would be fully eliminated.
The estimated cost of the reconstruction project is $2 million. Mid-to long-term investments three to 10 years are estimated at approximately $8 million. This would result in a tax increase of roughly 3.29 per cent above the level recommended in the 2025 UCPR Asset Management Plan, which is 4.88 per cent for 2026.
The cost of eventual reconstruction between William Street and Tupper Street, which will be necessary in three to five years, is estimated to cost $6 million. Reconstructing the section of Main Street between McGill Street to William Street, is estimated at $2 million. These estimates reflect expected needs for pavement rehabilitation and underground storm sewer infrastructure renewal.
The second option presented to council was to deny the request for the UCPR to assume responsibility for Main Street in Hawkesbury.
A third option was to have UCPR council adopt the connecting link option but to have the upcoming rehabilitations of the street funded by an additional tax increase beyond the 3.29 per cent recommended in the 2025 UCPR Asset Management Plan.
Option Four was to have UCPR council agree to have the regional government assume responsibility for Main Street in Hawkesbury.
Bouchard noted that County Road 4, which is Front Road both east and west of Hawkesbury, is the only discontinuous road in the UCPR system.
Bouchard remarked that most urban main streets in the UCPR are county roads and compared the connecting link proposal to the arrangement for street repair funding that the Ontario government uses in urban areas traversed by provincial highways. Local examples include Highway 34 along McGill Street in Hawkesbury and High Street in Vankleek Hill.
Hawkesbury Mayor Robert Lefebvre responded to the options and said county roads serve all urban areas of the UCPR, except for Hawkesbury.
“Currently, there are 27 urban or built-up areas in the united counties and all have county roads going through these areas.”
Lefebvre continued by saying that because Hawkesbury is already an established urban area, it should be even easier for the UCPR to assume responsibility for an arterial road than the faster-growing areas of the western UCPR.
He added that Hawkesbury contributes to the UCPR road system through property taxes but does not have any county roads within its boundaries.
Lefebvre also disagreed with the idea of eliminating the Road Transfer Fund.
“This option should not be tied in contingent with the cancellation of the Road Transfer Fund.”
Bouchard said that if the UCPR assumed responsibility for the street, it would add an equivalent of a $2 million capital expenditure for 2026 which is not in the current asset management plan.
“I want Hawkesbury to have a road in there,” said Clarence-Rockland Mayor Mario Zanth. He called it an injustice to have one municipality with no county roads that continues to pay for the roads everywhere else.
Bouchard said adding the street to the UCPR’s asset management plan would have a major financial impact.
“It’s probably our worst road in the county system,” Bouchard said.
The Nation Mayor Francis Brière said the Road Transfer Fund should not be discontinued because of its benefit to all municipalities.
“We’ve come to rely on that money,” Brière said.
Champlain Township Mayor Normand Riopel noted every municipality pays part of a county road project taking place in other municipalities. He and Russell Township Mayor Mike Tarnowski both inquired about how the costs of those projects are shared between the UCPR and individual municipalities.
Bouchard said that for reconstruction projects involving urban streets and county roads, the UCPR pays for 9.3 metres of the pavement width and base. Sidewalks, traffic lights, and roundabouts are all municipal responsibilities. Bouchard also estimated that all storm sewers on Main Street in Hawkesbury will require replacement. He also said that UCPR snow removal equipment is currently not designed for Hawkesbury’s Main Street.
Chief Administrative Officer Stéphane Parisien said preliminary discussions are necessary before any transfer or a connecting link agreement is reached.
Zanth suggested deferring a decision until there are further conversations between the UCPR and Hawkesbury about the financial implications.
Council unanimously adopted the motion requesting further discussions take place between the UCPR and Town of Hawkesbury administrations about the possible transfer of Main Street from town to UCPR responsibility, and for a report of the potential financial implications to be developed to better inform UCPR council before a decision is made.
