oct-2017

210 211 Cartwright, and the Town of Port Perry, today, its major urban and population hub. According to Mayor Tom Rowett, Scugog is on the cusp of a major growth spurt, or “mini- boom,” that will increase the town’s population significantly. “We recently had an expansion to our water pollution control plant –our sewage plant that’s operated by the region,” he explains. “This past June was the official opening, and it has opened up the door so that we can now have residential development within the urban town proper of Port Perry, where we haven’t had any significant growth for over a decade – almost 14 years.” “To be a municipality within the GTA, and not have the ability to grow your residential base is very difficult, considering the housing boom that’s happening all around us,” Rowett continues. “So, we’re very excited to finally have the access, and ability, to have some infilling and intensification happening within our boundaries, with much needed tax assessments to take the pressure off the existing tax base, while also attracting more SCUGOG, ONTARIO AT A GLANCE | SCUGOG, ONTARIO WHAT: A township of 22,500 WHERE: South-central Ontario, 53 miles northeast of Toronto WEBSITES: www.scugog.ca commercial and industrial tax base by having ex- tra capacity. Over the next five years, we’re going to have a mini-boom, and there’s going to be lot of things happening with permitting, and sub-di- vision approvals, etc., that we haven’t had the luxury of having over the last many years.” “Now, you’re going to see pretty rapid growth for a community this size,” adds Chief Adminis- trative Officer, Paul Allore. “For instance, in the past ten years, we averaged around 20 houses a year; and over the next five to six years we have forecasted over a thousand, so we’ll be averaging upwards of 200 houses a year, which you can see, if you had 20 and now you have 200, this is big growth for a small community.” Scugog is preparing for that atypical growth curve in several ways. Allore reports that, under the instructions of the Town Council, staff is carry- ing out a core service review, going through each municipal department, looking for savings and efficiencies, with the intent to funnel funds into areas that need to be ramped up. “We’re also kick- ing off a Community Improvement Plan,” he says. “It will provide incentives for developers who Scugog is known in the region for festivals and events which happen every weekend throughout the summer, when the downtown and waterfront are flooded with visitors. TOM ROWETT MAYOR