Trent Lakes Council approved $59,652.60 in community grants in the 2025 municipal budget which was passed at this week’s regular council meeting.
A total of 15 organizations were awarded funds with the highest amount ($22,800) going to the Buckhorn Community Centre.
Many organizations asked for a lot more funding than what was awarded. The awards were made based on a scoring and rating matrix used by all council members. Grants were also awarded to:
• Buckhorn District Lions Club received $870 (requested $1,000)
• Cavendish Community Ratepayers Association received $744.80 ($992 requested)
• Cavendish Culture and Recreation Committee received $4,400 ($9,975 requested)
• Community Care Buckhorn received $6,000 ($7,000 requested)
• Galway Hall received $2,187.80 ($2,604.54 requested)
• Greater Harvey Historical Society received $5,500 ($8,000 requested)
• Kawartha Lake Stewards Association received $1,620 ($2,000 requested)
• Kinmount Agricultural Society received $7,600 ($19,000 requested)
• Kinmount Pickleball Club received $1,500 ($2,000 requested)
Valerie McCoy whipped up some cotton candy at BlizzardFest in Buckhorn on Saturday. BlizzardFest is a celebration of family and heritage and included horse drawn wagon rides, childrens games, music, skating and, of course, the ever favorite chili cook-off.
The average homeowner in Trent Lakes will pay $59.06 more in municipal taxes even though the total 2025 budget is $5,239,039 less than 2024.
CAO/Treasurer Donna Teggart told council that the budget decrease is a result of the completion of the new Dedicated Mechanics Facility built just north of Bobcaygeon.
The taxes property owners will pay is still based in the 2016 Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s (MPAC) assessment which has not been updated after being delayed by the Covid pandemic. The MPAC assessment for the average home in 2016 in Trent Lakes is $412,612.80.
The increase for 2025 is $11.79 for every 100,000 of residential assessment.
The impact on the average homeowner for a single family detached, single family detached on water and seasonal dwelling on water will be $59.06.
The 2025 budget is impacted by increased training certification for Emergency Services, wage increases under the new COPE contract, purchasing delivery delays and a lack of bidders on projects, inflationary pressures and increased insurance costs.
Teggart told council that there have been cost savings through digitization and process efficiencies, joint tendering with Peterborough County for road surface treatment, winter sand and calcium chloride, and new revenue from changes to the recycling process.
A lifetime of creativity will take center stage as local artist and designer Drew Ridpath presents a retrospective of his work at Eco Gallery in Lakefield.
The exhibit, curated by his daughter Jody Ridpath, offers a rare glimpse into decades of artistic exploration, spanning from the late 1960s to the present day.
The show will open with a reception on Saturday, February 22, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the newly renovated Eco Gallery, providing an opportunity for the community to meet the artist and view his extensive work, and maybe even purchase a few original pieces!
Ridpath, a long-time resident of Lakefield, has had an extensive career over the years that saw him create architectural designs, metal sculptures, paintings, and illustrations.
Ridpath told the Herald that his early work in architectural drafting, learned from his brother Bill, laid the foundation for his later endeavours. In the 1960s, he started to create metal sculptures while supporting his young family before transitioning back to architectural design.
Over the years, he has designed numerous summer homes in the Kawarthas and Muskoka regions, often working with clients in the media and entertainment industries.
This short documentary is a portrait of a tiny town, Lakefield, Ontario, and its independent weekly, the Herald. Across North America, newspapers are dying, but in Lakefield, Terry McQuitty, the town paper’s publisher, carries on a rich, 150-year-old tradition. Set to the pace of small-town life, Unheralded is a testament to the vital role newspapers can still play, and the close bond between reporter and reader.
