Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 10

60 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 10 of school-aged children attend private Christian schools. Aside from the OPC, there aren’t any post-secondary institutions in Malahide, but nearby London and St. Thomas have Western University and Fanshawe College. “We do have facilities offering great space for community events,” says Sweetland. “Springfield’s Malahide Community Place has meeting places and a banquet hall accommodating between 15 to 250 people, complete with a catering kitchen. There’s also an outdoor area with three clay ball diamonds as well as nice walking trails. Another venue, the South Dorchester Community Hall has a seating capacity of 60 people and a fully equipped kitchen, a beautiful walking track, and playground equipment.” These facilities are just a glimpse into the many available amenities. Since Malahide wraps around the full-service town of Aylmer, residents have easy access to many retail choices. Mennomex, a Mexican grocery store offering delicious hot food as well as local Amish and Mennonite goods is a popular favorite. For those looking for a larger urban downtown, London and St. Thomas are close by. With residents travelling to these nearby cities for work or pleasure, the roads need to be well- maintained. The Township is responsible for 400 kilometers of roads including both county and Township ones. Malahide partners with Elgin County, where the township maintains the roads and then the county compensates Malahide for expenditures. This partnership includes other shared services such as Malahide Fire Services, Paramedic Services (EMS), and GPS. The Township also maintains three water utilities. According to Sweetland, “We have the local Malahide water main with around 600 connections, the Aylmer Area Secondary Water Supply which is 14 kilometers of 18-inch water main, and Port Burwell Area Secondary Water Supply System which is 37 kilometers of 12-inch water main. Springfield has about six kilometers of municipal sanitary sewers, but It involves the authorized separation of a piece of land to form new lots, but only through consented approval. The short-term aim is to focus on Springfield and hopefully, within the decade, extend to Copenhagen or Port Bruce. Meanwhile, broadband is another project the Township is improving. Mayor Mennill reports, “We’re looking at how we can enhance our connectivity. If COVID has shown us anything, it’s that we can work from home efficiently. People moving from urban centers to rural areas ask, ‘what’s the connectivity?’ Unfortunately, if you answer “not ideal”, they look elsewhere. So, we’re working on solving that problem.” Improving broadband would also benefit local schools. The Malahide region has four official boards: the Thames Valley District School Board, the London District Catholic School Board, the French-Language Catholic School Board, and the French-Language Public School Board. With such a large Mennonite population, about 30 percent