There’s much to be excited about in the RM of Rockwood with the launch of the new year.
Reeve Wes Taplin outlined some of the projects underway in the community.
“Our 55-Plus is going to start in February, which will be the first building up in the new development in Stony Mountain. It’s been a long time coming. Finally seeing something pop out of the ground will be proof that we weren’t just talking — it’s actually happening,” he said. “We started this process three years ago. We talked about it and finally we’re going to see something happen.”
Residential growth is underway in many Rockwood communities, he added.
“There’s lots of things on the go throughout the municipality. In Balmoral, we’ve got that five-plex on Main Street. In Argyle, we’ve got houses being built. In Gunton, there’s a new building going in there. So it has been a great year for the residential side of it,” Taplin said.
“And we had to rely on residential this year because, with the uncertainty down in the States and any businesses tied to U.S. trade, the commercial side of it went absolutely silent. Until there’s some certainty down south, it’s probably going to be slower on the commercial and the industrial side.”
At the same time, Taplin said it’s also sometimes a challenge to access provincial and federal funding.
“We put our lift stations in and we self-funded them through Rockwood because we didn’t receive any granting through Infrastructure on that. We received some funding from the province for the intersection rebuild at Road 75 and 10E, but the complete project is $5 million and we received $1.2 million towards it,” he said.
“It’s been a struggle for funding, but everything is regional. All the municipalities around us are applying for that same money and the bowl is only so big. So when a neighbouring municipality receives a grant, we’re happy that it came to our area. Even if we weren’t successful on our grant applications, we know that it’s going to be a spinoff for us also.”
With an eye on the horizon, Taplin looks ahead to more forward progress for Rockwood.
“We are going 100 per cent forward with growth, putting the municipality first so that we’re not stagnant. We’re looking at all parts of it — recreation, industry, residential growth. We don’t want to change the fabric that made us Rockwood, but we want to keep adding to that fabric,” he said.
“And 2026 is going to be an interesting year because in October there will be an election. We want to make sure that Rockwood is in a good position before we go into that election.”
Taplin also gives a shout out to the rest of council as well as the municipal team who work hard behind the scenes.
“We have an amazing council and an amazing administration that works tirelessly at making Rockwood better,” he said. “Even when something seems like an impossible task, they make it happen. They keep us moving forward.”
