Kincardine proceeds to Phase 2 of BEC utility transfer
By Liz Dadson

Kincardine Town Council

What should have been a quick vote turned into a lengthy debate regarding the transfer of the sewer and water systems at the Bruce Energy Centre to the Municipality of Kincardine from Bruce Power.

At the Kincardine council meeting Wednesday night (Oct. 7), the decision was on the agenda to approve the transfer, in principle, and proceed to Phase 2 which involves legal and detailed engineering aspects.

However, councillor Randy Roppel urged council to defer that decision until the delegation from the Tiverton and District Ratepayers Association could make its presentation, which was further down on the agenda.

Alluding to Roppel's earlier comments about breaking the rules of the Official Plan in reference to the rezoning for a used car lot in Tiverton, deputy mayor Laura Haight mimicked him, asking what's the point of having procedural rules if council is just going to break them.

However, council agreed to hear the delegation first and moved into committee-of-the-whole.
Association president Bob Wilson said his group had reviewed the deal between the municipality and Bruce Power and now realized that it is not in the best interests of the residential users of the sewer system, mainly the residents of Tiverton.

Of the 100-acre parcel that the municipality would take over, 70 acres are swamp land, said Wilson. Plus, the municipality would lose annual taxes generated by this property.

"Bruce Power is not doing us any favours," he said. "They're divesting themselves of a future liability."
He suggested council, its solicitor and insurance company take a tour of the area so they know what the municipality is getting into. "We asked 25 questions and while 18 have been answered satisfactorily, seven remain unanswered," he said.

Wilson said there are 400 sewer connections required to service Inverhuron, 60 more than in Tiverton. "We feel that there is not sufficient capacity for those sewers," he said.
The association is also concerned about the extensive build up of sludge in the lagoons which will cost millions to remove. "We believe B.M. Ross and Associates (municipal engineer) has not presented a clear picture of the costs for the lagoon," Wilson said.

He said the municipality is rushing through this without contacting the people of Tiverton who are a major player in this deal.

The association wants council to hold a town-wide meeting in Tiverton to explain the proposal in full detail; get a guarantee from B.M. Ross and Associates that adding Inverhuron will not affect the capacity of the lagoons; and get a written guarantee from Bruce Power that it will pay for all upgrades to the lagoons to 2018 when its lease expires at Bruce Nuclear.

Returning to council, councillor Ron Hewitt also had questions about the transfer.

He asked what amount of capital reserve is required to put away per year in order to replace the systems in the future. He wanted to know the real benefits to the municipality not just the promotion of industrial land. He asked for a copy of the original agreement between the businesses in the energy park and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) which owns the systems. And he asked whether the sewage plant design is outdated.

"This is a huge undertaking here," he said,  "What's the rush?"

"This is not the decision to take on the sewage lagoons," said councillor Mike Leggett. "It's just a decision to proceed with a review of the legal part of it and a detailed engineering review. I'd like to see the original agreement too, but we keep stumbling over theses same questions. B.M. Ross and Associates did a basic review of the proposal now we need to take a closer look at it."

Hewitt said he would also like the engineer to now be paid by the municipality rather than Bruce Power so the municipality can "call the tune."

Mayor Larry Kraemer said Bruce Power has faith in the sewage plant and is willing to entertain a guarantee, built into Phase 2, if anything should happen to the infrastructure of the plant in the future.

As for the liability issue, Leggett said that Bruce Power has been honest about the fact that it wants to pass on the sewage plant to the municipality because of the liability. "That has been no secret," he said. "The municipality has a better opportunity to govern that sewage lagoon and make it better for the users."

"The people of the Village of Tiverton and Inverhuron have a right to have input into this," said Roppel. "We have failed them and it affects them."

Kraemer said that last week, the Tiverton Ratepayers Association withdrew its objections once Dwight Willett of Bruce Power provided a guarantee for the system. Phase 2 will provide a more detailed review, Kraemer said, and answer the question of whether there is a plan that is in the best interests of all.

Chief administrative officer John deRosenroll said Phase 2 will include a legal review, a study of engineering and operation of the systems, and an examination of the cost and a budget

In a recorded vote, council approved the motion, 6-3, to proceed to Phrase 2, with mayor Larry Kraemer, deputy mayor Laura Haight, and councillors Guy Anderson, Kenneth Craig, Marsha Leggett and Mike Leggett in favour, while councillors Gordon Campbell, Ron Hewitt and Randy Roppel were opposed.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009