THE Linden Mayor and Town Council has unveiled its work programme for 2017 that will be financed by the $16M subvention from Central Government.Making priority on the list is the commencement of construction of a municipal pound to house stray animals, which costs $1 M and the extension of the Christianburg cemetery, which will be done to the tune of $3M.

“Because of the reduction in available spots for burial, this will allow it to extend to accommodate 2000 spot for burial that may be able to suffice for one year,” Linden Mayor, Carwyn Holland said.

On public infrastructure, the Council will spend $2M to construct an access road to the Mackenzie Market and $1.5M to repair bridges and add reflectors to speed bumps on streets in several communities on the Wismar shore, including Silver Town, Green Valley and Victory Valley.

“This will aid in making access safe for residents of these communities and in turn increase productivity, especially in areas where persons need quick access to the central business district,” Holland explained.

Several streets will also see the placement of street lights as a means of strengthening security and placement of barriers to allow heavy-duty vehicle drivers to use their correct back routes when journeying to and from interior locations.

Other projects on the agenda are the purchasing of a constituency bus for $3M so that all eight constituencies will be served more effectively given the fact that currently there is only one bus available, which is stymieing progress and the commencement of a land reclamation project.

“This project will focus on the cleaning and clearing of illegal dumpsites developed across Linden and the installing of ‘No Dumping’ signs and the creation of legal community dumpsites. This will foster a cleaner environment, enhance the aesthetics of the environment and most importantly reduce communicable diseases,” Holland articulated.

In this regard, Cevon’s Waste Management has already cleared several illegal dumpsites in Linden as a means of severance repayment to the Council for also dumping illegally.

The Council will be garnering funds from other avenues such as rates and taxes and the Kara Kara toll booth to execute other important projects in the area of garbage collection.

Last Saturday, Mayor Carwyn Holland attended a meeting in Newark, New Jersey, USA and highlighted the issue of garbage collection, while noting that assistance to purchase compactor trucks will be deeply appreciated.

Despite these strides, the LMTC is still cash-strapped and indebted to several entities, including the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), which it owes $250M.
Holland is calling on Central Government to bail out the Council from this debt since its current income is not enough to clear it.

The Council is also calling for an increase in the Wismar/Mackenzie Bridge share. It is currently getting 25 per cent of the funds garnered.