Business View Civil & Municipal Apr-2023

16 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 4 A new tourism initiative, Historic Southgate, highlights all of the tourism, arts, and culture experiences available throughout the municipality. Murphy elaborates, “We have identified 119 points of interest around the township of historical significance, Hamlets, churches, and schools. Each of those locations has been uploaded to a website, www.historicsouthgate.ca. There’s a photo and some information about each of those locations, and then a driving tour of all of those points of interest. We’ve also indicated where they can stop and grab a bite to eat or have a picnic and support our local businesses while they’re out doing that.” Southgate is the new home for the Grey County Kite Festival, being held in the Historic Hamlet of Hopeville on August 26 and 27, 2023. www. flyhopeville.ca This along with many other local events such as the Holstein Agro Expo, Maplefest, Oktoberfest, The Holstein Non- Motorized and Dundalk Santa Parades, and seasonal events hosted by local not-for-profit organizations, our Agricultural Society, Legion, Egremont Optimist Club and other community groups, give residents and visitors plenty to do. The agriculture and on-farm industry, and the local food delights they provide, are another reason to live in, or visit, Southgate Township. “We have a lot of farm gate sales, where people who grow food sell food here, there’s a ton of opportunity to buy local foods, fruits, vegetables and meats. We have lovely butchers that sell their meats. J-Mar Meats is available right here in Southgate. The meat products are grown here and processed here, and they’re just lovely to have,” relays Murphy. The Mennonite community has also embraced the bountiful opportunities in Southgate, purchasing farms, and supporting them with on-farm shops that make products for companies like Bombardier, Chrysler, and John Deere. Stredwick acknowledges, “These are small shops that have $4 million plasma laser cutters in them. They really do some amazing things in the countryside.” Looking to the future, Mayor Milne says there is a sense of renewal in Southgate. “I see some really strong synergy coming out of the new people moving to our communities, the young families who are looking for a lifestyle and a solid place to raise their families, and invest their time and their efforts,” he remarks. “That’s not to say that we’re going to ignore the legacy of the long-term residents that have lived here, certainly we feel a responsibility to respect their efforts in the past to build and maintain this township and this community. The challenge is to try to make it good for everybody, but still maintain that sense of safety and belonging.” PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Flex Modular www.flexmodular.ca At FLEXModular our units are designed to suit your needs, built to last, and delivered on time within budget. Our modular building construction happens independently of site work, allowing projects to be completed faster and cheaper than traditional on-site construction and our high-quality structures are built to provide a safe and comfortable environment based on the needs of our clients. We are your cost-effective solution for temporary or permanent building structures.