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The Citizen, 2007-05-31, Page 6Continued from page 1however, they had all signedon for the contractors to dothe work at the newly quotedprice. This was something that councillors understood, but said unfortunately there is no way around it. The homes in question are the ones who need this work, and these requirements are associated with the work. The requirements and procedures are out of their hands. When the question was asked about competitive quotations, Andy McBride of R.J. Burnside, along with mayor Dorothy Kelly confessed that only one company was consulted initially. Further on into the process, a second company was consulted, but they said they didn’t want to take over the job that the first had already invested so much in. Several citizens said this was unreasonable, as multiple agencies are consulted for many municipal jobs, like lawn maintenance and construction. OTHER ISSUES McBride said the Humphrey well is to be abandoned because of surface water infiltration. Several citizens found this to be unreasonable, saying they did not receive any notification of this, and that it might be something they have the right to know, as citizens so closely affected by it. Dropping the sod restoration fee was also discussed. Taylor said, the contractor had no problem dropping it if people didn’t want it. One citizen said a $215 fee for resodding is ridicul- ous when a bag of grass seed can be bought at a cost of $20. Additional restoration was also a point of concern for several citizens who already know the trail their waterline takes, crossing crucial points of the property. One ratepayer said that for the new line to go in, her walkway would have to be torn up and work would have to be done through her finished laundry room. When she asked whether the replacement of these property items would be done at the contractor’s expense, Taylor said he was unsure, but that he didn’t think so.Some residents wonderedwhether they would bepermitted to bring their owncontractor in.Kelly said she was sure something could be worked out. The municipality was willing to finance work done on the contractor’s quotation, but they had to discuss whether they would offer financial assistance in the form of a loan to people who chose to go with their own contractor. This is a sticky situation, said deputy-mayor Jim Nelemans, because the municipality can’t be held accountable for shoddy work done by someone the municipality didn’t approve of. However, several citizens warmed to the idea of shopping for a better quotation. DECISION Near the end of the meeting, councillors retired to the back room of Belgrave’s WI Hall, returning with a decision to be voted on by councillors at their next meeting on June 5. The municipality initially offered a financing plan for citizens getting work done by the contractor and could not offer the same treatment to those who weren’t. Council returned with a decision to allow the loan plan to be carried over to citizens opting to go with a different contractor. They decided that up to a cost of $2,625, the municipality would front the cost, which could be paid back by the same regulations as the initial payment plan with the contractor’s agreement. Under a separate contractor, the citizen would have to sign for all responsibility for subsequent work, should anything go wrong after the initial work was done. If invoices were provided for the municipality, they could provide the funds and work under the same initial plan. This was crucial to the municipality’s agreement to this point. Nelemans said they can’t be held accountable if work goes bad, and they have paid already. Then the ratepayer needs help, the contractor has their money and the only person left to go to is the municipality. However, it is possible thatthe quotation of $2,625 perhouse could be dependent onthe number of total houses inthe contract. Thus, the morepeople who decide to go independent, the higher the price goes for those deciding to stick with the original contractor. Councillor Mark Beaven said that things get uncertain when people get into their own contractors. It could very well result in a change in the quotation. Beaven told the ratepayers that while a competitive quote may be out there, it will not provide thousands of dollars in savings. If a quotation does come in cheaper, it will most likely just be a shade lower than the quotation. He said that while peddling the current contractor was the last thing on his mind, he thought it was a sure thing and a safe bet. Nelemans agreed, saying that while he supports people’s rights to find their own contractor and shop for the best deal, he thinks it should be an all-or-nothing deal. Clerk-administrator Nancy Michie assured the citizens that they would be kept informed and would receive further information as fast as she can get it out to them. This is a cause for concern because of the tight deadline with which people have to contend. In the event that the quotation changes, Kelly said that a new contract would be drawn up and that people would not necessarily be bound to the new price. CONTRACT This was something that several citizens found hard to take. Several held their initial signed contracts agreeing upon a cost of $1,400. They wondered how a signed contract could be changed without the permission of the signing parties. This served to fuel the fire as more people became skeptical when this could not be answered to their satisfaction. Subsidies at various levels of government were then brought up by several ratepayers, whether there could be a grant from the province or money could be pulled from the tax levy or from water reserves. Kelly said this was not an option, seeing how much hasalready been taken out to helpthis situation.Forms were available at the meeting for people to fillout, to declare their intentions. People also protested that plumbers and contractors are in high demand at this time of year and that a quotation, let alone work, may be difficult to obtain by the June 30 deadline.Nelemans and Beaven bothagreed that the deadlineshould stay firm. Kelly said itwas essential that thecontractor get a firm number of how many homes they were contracted to do sooner rather than later. Beaven agreed, saying that sitting on the initial quotation was what brought this situation about in the first place.Taylor agreed, saying thatany delay could turn aspring/summer job into a falljob, which could open thedoor to more regulations and possible price hikes. With all of these variables, when a ratepayer stood up to ask if now after this hike, if the $2,625 was a solid, final figure, no one could answer the question for sure. PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2007. Cleaning up for CF Belgrave Kinsmen held a car wash on the weekend to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis, the principal cause for the organization. Putting the sparkle on this car were, from left, Darrell Weber, Ken Pennington and Mike Malhiot. (Vicky Bremner photo) Citizens feel process was unreasonable WANTED 7 HOMES THAT NEED ROOFING 7 homes in your area will be given the opportunity of having an INTERLOCK metal roofing system installed on their home at a reasonable cost. This lifetime product is capturing the interest of homeowners across the country who want to know this will be the last time they will have to re-roof their home. Our product is environmentally friendly and comes with a transferable Lifetime Limited Warranty with an excellent choice of colours to compliment your home and is going to be introduced to your local market. Your home can be a show place in your neighbourhood and we will make it worth your while if we can use your home. Please call Dominic: 1-866-545-0278 www.canadasroof.com Toll-Free 24 hours 7 Days a week If you received a blood transfusion or blood product before 1992, you may have been infected with hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that slowly damages your liver. Symptoms do not show up for years but you will eventually get sick. Before 1992, screening for this disease was not consistent and many patients became infected through the blood system. So ask your doctor about getting tested. Detection is key to controlling the virus and you may be entitled to financial assistance. 1-877-222-4977 www.health.gov.on.ca/hepc Paid for by the Government of Ontario Hepatitis C. Find out if you have it. Get tested.