August 2024 Cities Civil and Municipal Public Sector

Russell, Ontario – Prescott and Russell County

August 28, 2024

Russell, Ontario

A Dynamic Township on the Rise

A true gem in the heart of the Capital Region

A true gem in the heart of the Capital Region

Just 30 minutes from the bustling city of Ottawa, the Township of Russell captures the charm of small-town Ontario while providing easy access to the amenities of a larger city. This bilingual municipality, with an equal mix of English and French-speaking residents, encompasses the villages of Embrun and Russell, along with several smaller communities.

Over the past decade, Russell Township has seen significant population growth, expanding from under 14,000 to approximately 22,000 residents. This growth is supported by a thriving economy, with 300 to 400 new building permits issued annually. “We have a very nice, small-town feel here, but with a lot of recreational amenities,” depicts CAO, Richard Godin. With this in mind, the township maintains a balance between preserving its rural charm, and seeking out quality of life opportunities, making it an attractive place to call home.

Historic Downtown and Infrastructure Development

Currently, investments are being made to revitalize the Main Streets in the villages of Embrun and Russell, while carefully preserving the unique aspects of each one. Jonathan Bourgon, Executive Director of Infrastructure Services, details, “It varies from what type of benches we will purchase, to sidewalks and making sure that we’ve maintained the right vibe. In Russell, it’s more of a brick style, so we want to maintain that historical aspect.”

At the same time, the township is working to ensure that downtown streetscape initiatives align with investments outlined in the transportation master plan. Small businesses are also supported through a community improvement plan, which provides funding for downtown entities to do façade improvements to their buildings.

Industrial Park

Commercial and Industrial Growth

Godin highlights the vibrant business communities in both Embrun and Russell, noting the strong support from local entrepreneurs and the Chamber of Commerce. “We do value our local businesses. That is another close-knit community, where they work together and we work with them on a lot of projects as well,” he portrays. “That’s important when it comes to maintaining the character of our growing township.”

Recent developments include a commercial park in Embrun, which is currently home to a vehicle dealership, with more establishments expected shortly including a grocery store. An industrial park along Highway 417 has also gained momentum over the past decade, with ongoing efforts to attract more businesses. Long term, the hope is to bring in commercial and retail businesses that would benefit from the proximity to the highway although Godin admits that bringing the essential infrastructure does pose some financial challenges.

“We did evaluate the potential of bringing water and sewer services. It’s very difficult to be doing it on our own,” he asserts. “So, with help from the province or federal, that’s one of the other projects that we’re looking at.”

Investing in Critical Infrastructure

Infrastructure development is pivotal to Russell Township’s growth strategy, and Bourgon conveys that the forward-thinking investments of a decade ago are the reason for the rapid growth the municipality can support today.

“We did invest a lot in our water system, and sanitary sewers as well, which created a lot of capacity to allow for that growth,” he expands. “Now we’re 10 years down the line, and the next big thing, in our next term, will be to maintain that capacity to allow for future growth.” Efforts will also be put towards wastewater treatment improvements, ensuring the municipality is up to or exceeding provincial standards.

Additionally, Russell Township faces the significant task of rebuilding its aging sewer system, once again taking a proactive approach to this investment. “We’re using a climate change aspect, in that we need to oversize everything,” Bourgon explains, noting that recent weather events are bringing more significant rainfall than those of the past.

“We need to account for that capacity, and we need to allow for that extra water coming down on our street, to convey that to our proper treatment facilities,” he acknowledges. “So, we are at the point that we’ll need to make major investments. As part of every road reconstruction, we need to accommodate for that storm sewer rebuild as well.”

As for broadband infrastructure, the municipality is working to facilitate the federal initiative to bring fiber throughout the region within three years. “It’s not necessarily an investment from the municipality, but we need to work with those utilities to facilitate the installation,” relays Bourgon. “There’s a lot of plans to review, and we need to issue some approvals for Bell, Rogers, and all the other utilities in our region. We are working closely with them to make sure that the project can happen in that timeframe.”

Parks, Recreation, and Community Services

Russell Township is committed to enhancing the quality of life for residents, offering an impressive array of outdoor amenities and recreational facilities. Celine Guitard, Director of Parks and Recreation boasts, “Like the rest of the departments, Parks and Recreation has exploded in the last years.”

Currently, the community offers 24 parks, including a modern sports dome with a soccer turf, tennis, pickleball, and fitness amenities, as well as a walking track. Recently, an accessible park was added to the township’s repertoire, adding tennis and basketball courts, and exercise components for seniors. 10 km of natural walking trails offer a scenic tour and connection between the villages of Embrun and Russell.

Construction has started on a new recreation complex featuring three ice rinks, a six-lane pool, and a 10,000-square-foot community hall. “That is a major project, the biggest that the Township of Russell has ever had. We are all excited about this.” Guitard asserts.

Godin says this new complex also has the potential to draw further development to the municipality. He shares, “I could see that as being a big attraction factor. Right now, we don’t have any hotels in the township, but that may be something that will drive that need and that want, especially if we’re able to host hockey tournaments and other sports events.”

Environmental Initiatives

Sustainability is a key priority for the township. “The word is in our vision, and it’s all over our strategic plan. Anytime we’re making new constructions, we’re looking at having those green technologies,” Godin reports. “We have invested in certain energy efficient projects, lighting retrofits in all of our buildings, and the hydro savings that we get from that, we’re putting into a reserve to be able to reinvest into those green initiatives.”

These include further energy-efficient building upgrades, the inclusion of hybrid and electric vehicles in the municipal fleet and plans for more electric vehicle charging stations on township properties. Bourgon remarks, “We are working on a Climate Action Plan to see if there are other ways that we can be more sustainable by reducing our entire carbon footprint. We’re hoping to have that completed by the end of this year.”

Looking Ahead

Moving forward, the Township of Russell continues to embrace growth and transformation fueled by a proactive approach to planning and community development. “We are trying to organize ourselves as far as what our next 5 to 10 years look like. We’re working on all our different master plans now because the official plan is being adopted,” illustrates Godin, underscoring the need for continued affordable housing solutions in the municipality.

For Bourgon, the focus is on supporting growth.

“We’re looking at older parts of our villages to do that densification, but the infrastructure cannot accommodate that growth. So that will be part of our future need,” he states. “The infrastructure goal for the next 10 to 20 years it’s to overlap all our plans together to create that financial need roadmap to make sure we maximize every penny that we have going forward.”

In the realm of parks and recreation, Guitard emphasizes the dedication to maintaining and enhancing services for all residents. She elaborates, “We’ve been working diligently in the last years to create more daycare spaces, which are in very high demand. You can just imagine if you have 500 new houses coming in, most of these houses are being bought by young families.” Alongside this, Guitard points to the new recreation complex as an exciting addition to the current amenities.

Looking to the future, the Township of Russell is a community committed to preserving its rural charm, while embracing modern growth. This balance of heritage and progress makes it a desirable place to live, work, and play, promising a vibrant future for all of its residents.