the opportunities of exporting local goods and importing others. In 1889, the former Dickson Mill on the Grand River was converted to a hydro electric plant which operated until July 1911 when a power grid from Niagara Falls reached the community. In the early 1870s, the Credit Valley Railway planned to implement several lines running west and north from Toronto and in 1873, built freight and passenger buildings in Galt. By 1879, the company had installed a bridge crossing the river and in December completed a preliminary test run with a train; it was successful. The CVR venture was not long-lived however, and in 1883, the line was taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway which built a brick passenger building that still stands. A new streetcar system, the Galt, Preston and Hespeler electric railway, (later called the Grand River Railway Company) would begin operation in 1894, connecting Preston and Galt. In 1911, the line reached Hespeler, Berlin (later called Kitchener) and Waterloo; by 1916 it had been extended to Brantford/Port Dover. The electric rail system ended passenger services in April, 1955. Not long after Galt had become part of Cambridge, in May 1974, flooding on the Grand River filled city streets with water to a depth of about four feet. In some areas of the downtown core, the depth was 17.4 feet, smashing windows and carrying goods along the streets. Approximately 75 businesses were affected, with virtually none covered by relevant insurance. The flood caused an estimated $5 million in damage. The Dickson Hill Heritage Conservation District, also known as Old West Galt, is an affluent neighbourhood full of stately homes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, found on the western side of the Grand River in West Galt. Government The local government is the Cambridge City Council consisting of a mayor and eight councillors, each representing a ward. The mayor is Katheryn McGarry (2018-2022 term) and formerly (2014-2018 term) was Doug Craig. Cambridge is also represented on the higher-tier Waterloo Regional Council which consists of the Regional Chair, the Mayors of the seven cities and townships, and eight additional Councilors - four from Kitchener and two each from Cambridge and Waterloo. Ken Seiling has held the position of Regional Chair since 1985. Cambridge is represented in Ottawa by Bryan May (Liberal), the federal member of Parliament who defeated the previous incumbent MP (Gary Goodyear, Conservative –