FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 25, 2024
For further information contact:
Niagara Falls Bridge Commission
905-354-5641 or 716-285-6322
NIAGARA FALLS BRIDGE COMMISSION ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT April Jeffs appointed by Premier Ford
LEWISTON, NEW YORK – The Commissioners of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) are pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. April Jeffs to the Board of Commissioners. She was appointed to the Commission by the Premier of the Province of Ontario, Doug Ford.
A resident of Welland, Ontario, Commissioner Jeffs has a long commitment to public service. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Port Colborne/Wainfleet Chamber of Commerce and Arid Recovery Homes, in addition to serving on the fundraising cabinet for the Help Kids Shine Campaign for the Niagara Children’s Centre. During her tenure with the Niagara Parks Commission from January 2019 to April 2024, Ms. Jeffs held the offices of Vice Chair and Chair. From 2010 to 2018, she served as Mayor of the Township of Wainfleet and a Niagara Regional Councillor.
Having a completed a certificate in Tourism at Niagara College and working in the tourism and hospitality industry for several years before raising her family, Commissioner Jeffs is keenly aware of the importance of the lower Niagara River crossings to the communities on both sides of the border. An entrepreneur, Commissioner Jeffs founded her wedding photography business over 20 years ago.
The present Board of Commissioners includes Chairperson Murna Dalton (ON), Vice Chairperson Kathleen Neville (NY), Secretary Lindsay DiCosimo Merani (ON), Treasurer Frank Soda (NY), and Dick Palladino (NY).
About the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission:
The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission is a unique, bi-national body. Canada and the U.S. are equally represented on the NFBC through the bi-national appointment of an eight-member Board of Commissioners. A Joint Resolution of the 1938 U.S. Congressional Third Session created the framework for the NFBC. In 1939, the Province of Ontario, Canada licensed the NFBC under The Extra Provincial Corporations Act and amended the Highway Improvement Act to authorize the appropriation of land in Ontario for transfer to the NFBC. Initially established to finance, construct and operate the Rainbow Bridge, the Commission proved efficient and effective at its mission. The NFBC’s powers and authority were thereafter expanded through amendments to the Joint Resolution in the U.S., and by the Rainbow Bridge Amendment Act of 1959 and the Queenston Bridge Act of 1959 in Canada. Together, these enactments empowered the NFBC to assume responsibilities for the Whirlpool Rapids (Lower) and Lewiston-Queenston Bridges. Today, in addition to owning and operating three international bridges, the NFBC builds and maintains facilities for Customs and Immigration functions on both sides of the international border. The NFBC is self-supportive, largely through user fees (tolls) and private-sector tenant leases. NFBC is authorized to conduct international commercial financial transactions and empowered to issue tax-exempt bonds in the United States.