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Public meeting into Inverhuron water and sewer project is Saturday morning By Liz Dadson |
Kincardine council To Comment on this article Click Here |
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Kincardine council is leaning toward installation of a full low-pressure sewer system in Inverhuron, complete with grinder pumps. However, the public has yet to have its say, as the public meeting is slated for tomorrow (July 9) at 9:30 a.m. at the municipal administrative centre. At the Kincardine council meeting Wednesday night (July 6), councillor Maureen Couture, public works policy chairperson, said the recommendation for the low-pressure sewers and grinder pumps comes from a majority of the Inverhuron Environmental Assessment (EA) steering committee which met June 28. During the council meeting, Bruce Potter of B.M. Ross and Associates, outlined the engineer's recommendations that no more sewers be hooked up on the east side of Lake Street South, unless there is an emergency situation; and that council consider a full low-pressure system with grinder pumps. He noted the steering committee's recommendation hinges on the municipality purchasing and maintaining the grinder pumps. He said the annual sewer rate for the rest of the municipality is $330 per household per year. The annual cost of a grinder pump is estimated at $273 per household per year. Potter said if residents of Inverhuron are concerned about the grinder pumps, they should come to the public meeting because a supplier will be on hand to answer questions, and a pump will be there for people to examine. The other sewer alternatives, said Potter, were full gravity, or a hybrid of gravity and low-pressure systems. The full low-pressure is the cheapest option, and for some areas of Inverhuron it is the only option. Deputy mayor Anne Eadie asked whether financing would be available to residents if this project went through. Potter said residents would have the option to pay up front, or over time - perhaps 10 to 20 years. Couture said that decision can be made by council at a later time, as well as whether to borrow the money from municipal coffers or from a financial institution. The $9-million project has received two-thirds funding from the federal and provincial governments. One of the major advantages of going with a low-pressure system, said Couture, is there is no need for a pumping station in McIntyre Park in Inverhuron.
Kelly Vader of B.M. Ross and Associates Meanwhile, council has also endorsed four EA guiding principles:
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At the steering committee meeting, members said that
there is a lot of unclear information in the public domain and it has
upset a lot of people. Rob Noakes of Inverhuron said that many believe the decision to go ahead with the project has already been made. However, Kelly Vader of B.M. Ross and Associates said there are recommendations on the table, but nothing has been determined. Potter told the steering committee that the water service would be charged in the same manner as the original lakeshore pipeline and would be mandatory in the Inverhuron area. "So, council has flip-flopped on the decision it made when that lakeshore pipeline went in," said Noakes. "It wasn't mandatory before, but now it's mandatory. Eighty per cent of people in the area did not want to connect to it and they didn't connect. Eight years later, council has changed its mind and now we have to connect because this is a different project?" Chief building official Michele Barr said staff will be bringing a report to council in the fall to address the remaining area along the lakeshore pipeline. "How did you think you were going to pay for the pipeline if 80 per cent of the people weren't going to connect?" asked Noakes. "Did you not have a back-up plan to pay for it?" Couture said the council of the day was expecting that eventually all residents would connect. "I didn't connect," said Janis Blackwell, a member of the committee who lives on Lake Street in Inverhuron. "I was forced to go on the sewers and it cost each of us $20,000." "I have never heard of a project not being mandatory hook-up," said Eadie. "If you're going to force connection to the lakeshore pipeline, you better get more chairs for your public meeting," said Noakes. Further discussion was held regarding the sewer servicing alternatives with the majority agreeing on the full low-pressure system with grinder pumps. Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
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