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Issues Raised by the public on Sewers |
Town Council(continued) |
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The Town Meeting on Wednesday 17th, 2009 in the Old Southampton Town Hall clarified some of the issues, if not all the answers. The meeting was not intended to give precision answers to specific questions because of the time constraints according to Town Staff. The Saugeen Times has been talking to residents who attended the meeting and trying to clarify the issues before the next meeting. What is written below is a summary of what the public is saying. A surprising number of people want the project to go forward because they are afraid of their septic system or theirs should be upgraded in the near future. Others who have just put a new one in are not so happy. By straw vote called by one speaker at the meeting the opponents are more more numerous by a show of hands. Our rough count was 3 to 1, but opponents quote an older study that shows 85% against. The Meeting Ron Brown Chief Administration Officer of Saugeen Shores was called upon to use all of his 35 years of experience in handling the meeting. He's an experienced manager. Dave Burnside Town Engineer was available for questions. The outside engineering firm representative was lightly called upon for any input as all his visuals were unreadable by the large audience. The Council members at the meeting were not asked to speak. Brown said that staff had not brought to them a full proposal and they were present to get public input and information. There is another meeting on Saturday June 20th at 2 pm at the Plex in Port Elgin which may prove to be heavily attended. It may be well to lay out the issues raised by some of the many speakers and residents who spoke in private. These will be covered again in the Saturday meeting, it is almost sure. Brown allowed each speaker about 5 minutes. He was not slavish in the timetable, but handled it quite well by asking the speakers to give up the balky microphone in order to allow others to speak once they were at 5 minutes or some reasonable break point. They would then go to the end of the line and wait their turn or return to their seats only to rise again. The sound system frustrated the speakers, the audience and Town Staff and officials alike. One speaker spoke 4 times and another 3. Granting this was a wise move on Brown's part as it allowed everyone who wished to speak the time they needed without one person dominating the meeting. It also allowed people with longer questions or statements to have their say. Some of the speakers had done extensive research and were making statements about their findings and not asking detailed questions. A number of issues were raised and will come up again Saturday, no doubt: Cost of Sewers vs. High Performance Septic Fields It appears that many of the residents who live across the Saugeen are concerned about the approximate $12,000 cost plus user fees Some have multiple lots and fixed incomes. Some residents said they would consider moving. Brown told them that they could expect the Council to offer them a payment schedule over 10 or more years. This may force the Town to seek a debenture to pay off the immediate cost of the project. Brown was clear on that and pointed out past projects that had done the same. CAO Brown also said that there is a difference between tax base and user incurred costs and fees such as water and sewer. Many in the audience wondered why the sewer burden could not be shared by the rest of the community. Brown spoke to this by giving them examples of other portions of Town which were covered in like manner either by private homeowners or developers. Curbs and Sidewalks vs. Current Rural Setting: Some of the residents particularly those living along Eckford were upset with the prospects of changing a charming rural road into an urban area. They also expressed concern that this may be the first gambit in a large scale set of development projects that would change the character of the area. Brown responded to this by saying that no such plans are on the books at present and some that were proposed in the past have not been given consideration for many years. Some of the residents interviewed by the Saugeen Times expressed concern over changing bylaws and zoning. They don't have faith in the official plan and are unaware of its details. A few wondered how they could propose curbs and sidewalks on some streets, when some residents have purchased from the Town the property right up to the road. Since the survey of Eckford has been in question for years and has caused a lot of concern, they wondered how this would be factored into what is proposed. 19/06/2009 09:02 AM
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Septic System Performance Some of the speakers quoted figures about septic tank performance indicating that they can in fact out perform sanitary sewers. This of course requires lots of specifications and monitoring which does not exist for older systems now in place. Some of the residents have recently purchased septic systems at large cost. Pump out records are almost non-existent. Inspections of septic fields is not done regularly. CAO Brown was passionate in his recommendation for sewers calling on his experience. He told the audience that Council of course would decide, but that he will recommend that this opportunity be taken to make the area safer and more in tune with the standards of the rest of the community. This was challenged by some speakers as they quoted figures showing that human waste from septic fields amounts to less than 1% of the lake pollution and is dwarfed by agriculture. One resident spoke passionately about the possible pollution coming to the main beach from storm sewers. Brown said that the main beach has been tested many times and found in good shape. Town Engineer Burnside has said this many times in the past, also. Environmental Impact One resident pointed out that higher density housing on what amounts to wetland will result in an environmental impact of unknown proportions with storm sewers having to be built to take the runoff to the Lake to avoid threatening lakeshore properties.. Some of the speakers wondered what type of engineering had been done for some of the 'tricky' parts of the project. For example:
Timing: Many questions were directed toward timing, both at the meeting and afterward in private. The questions amounted to "What did you know and when did you know it?" Brown outlined the timing. In summary the Town learned of the possibility of infrastructure funding that might be available, presented a short summary of the proposed needs and approval was granted very quickly (a matter of a few months for the entire process). Some residents asked "How can this project be shovel ready? Brown responded by outlining the grant proposal process and pointing out that a town is not expected to have all the answers, but enough to satisfy requirements and have the project completed in a short period of time. Brown mentioned that the Town might seek an extension to allow more planning. Also, it was clear from the discussions that the Town had not done a project like this in the past. The tender process will yield much information because specialized expertise exists in private companies. Many residents who did not speak wondered about the possible cost over-runs because of the complexity of the project. First time projects like this have a record of missing the mark, they said. Many of these issues will come forth Saturday and will be clarified in the future. Brown assured the audience that this is not a done deal and the Council has the final say. CAO Brown is retiring and he tried to impart his long experience in his comments. Talking to some residents who attended the meeting was interesting. "The people had their say" said one couple and they liked the democratic process that is available in Canada. It certainly was an open forum and Brown handled it as well as could be expected when facing such a large and impassioned audience with opinions and facts.
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