Council for the Township of Ashfield-Colbourne-Wawanosh is ready to commit funding to help repair the footing for the Menesetung Bridge.
At this week's meeting, council received a presentation from the Menesetung Bridge Association, who are working to repair the footing of the Heritage Designation.
The association has been working to secure grant funding for the repairs since they were first noted by BM Ross back in 2020.
The group told council on Tuesday that their application for $200,000 FedDev grant is likely to go through, as they've been notified that that they "should be prepared to proceed."
Treasurer Mike Dawson said once that went through, they would need to move quickly to secure the rest of the funding, so he brought an offer to both ACW and Goderich councils.
"I've been involved in this for over 30 years and working hard over the last three or four years to get this job done, so I've made this pledge with the Town of Goderich and I'm making a similar pledge here," he said. "If ACW will commit $50,000 of funding to the project, then I will personally match that amount."
Dawson said the funding could be paid out over several years, as the FedDev program extends into March 2026.
ACW council all expressed a desire to support the repairs to the bridge which is part of the G2G trail. They agreed to support the project in principle and directed staff to bring back a report with options on how the funds would be committed.
Goderich council will weigh how it can cover the association's funding request at next week's meeting. The group asked the Town of Goderich for $150,000.
The association has also committed to raising $200,000 within the community to go toward the project.
