The new Prescott and Russell Residence in Hawkesbury will also have a new Administrator sometime this year.

At a special meeting of United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) Council on Wednesday, January 14, a resolution was adopted acknowledging the retirement of Eric Larocque, effective June 30, 2026.

Larocque was appointed as Administrator of the Residence in August 2022. His retirement will conclude a 25-year career with the UCPR, which began with the Department of Emergency Services as a Superintendent and Deputy Chief of Emergency Services.

Bridge rehabilitation

An important bridge in Casselman will be rehabilitated this year. On January 14, UCPR Council awarded the contract for repairs to the Paul-Emile Levesque Bridge to KB Civil Constructors Inc. for $4,442,000.77, excluding sales tax. The bridge carries County Road 3 over the South Nation River. A total of eight bids were received, and the KB bid was the lowest. The tendered price of all the bidders was higher than the pre-tender estimate. According to a report prepared by the UCPR Department of Public Works by HP Engineering, the firm discussed the project with several of the bidders in an attempt to understand the discrepancy between the pre-tender estimate and the observed bid pricing. The bidders indicated that higher pricing for the project can generally be attributed to several factors including the overall extent of the work and schedule, the number of utilities present over the structure and utility protection and utility support requirements, the requirement for staging of the work and maintaining traffic flow at all times, and the general overall condition of the structure. To a lesser extent, market forces have also had an impact on bid pricing including general increases in minimum labour rates and tariff implications.

Council members had no questions or discussion about awarding the contract for the rehabilitation of the Paul-Emile Levesque Bridge to KB Civil Constructors.

Roundabout

Drivers on County Road 28 (St-Guillaume Road) and Route 300 in Embrun may find themselves going around in circles once a new roundabout is completed at the intersection.

On January 14, UCPR Council awarded the contract for the construction of the roundabout to R.W. Tomlinson Limited for an amount of $2,164,000, excluding HST.

The amount allocated in the 2026 budget for the project is $3,800,000, which includes construction costs, engineering services and other related costs with contingencies. Following a formal procurement process, the lowest bidder among the nine bids received was R.W. Tomlinson Limited. The roundabout is a joint project with the Township of Russell and is funded 50 per cent by the Province of Ontario through the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program – Housing-Enabling Core Servicing Stream.