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The Citizen
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2006. PAGE 11.
Cooler heads prevail at M-T council meeting
By Andrew Smith
Wingham Advance-Times
Cooler heads prevailed at Morris-
Turnberry council as the public was
invited to again discuss the
contentious Belgrave water system.
Peter McKee offered an apology
to council after being one of the
more vocal residents at the first
meeting on April 20. Having time to
look at all the information, McKee
said council was faced with a hard
decision and did the best they could.
"I don't think they can be
criticized for their reaction to what
we have here," McKee said.
Small communities across Ontario
have been in the same tough position
ever since the province issued
stricter regulations on municipal
water systems.
As the project for Belgrave grew,
so did the costs, bec6ming larger
than expected. McKee held his
opinion that council should have
advised people of the cost sharing.
"At no time was there any mention
that anybody who had their own well
was going to be included," McKee
said.
On the other hand, McKee
applauded council for extending the
service to all of Belgrave, as it
makes smart planning for the future.
Offering options in addition to his
criticism, McKee suggested that
residents pay a initial fee of $1,000
and pay the. balance at the time of
hooking in to the system. With the
interest being a burden to carry for
the municipality, McKee. said the
council could consider a loan.
However, mayor Dorothy Kelly
said the Sustainable Water and
Sewers Act leaves no room for any
amount not recovered from the loan.
"We have to recover it all, it's all
Reading
opens
Diabetic
Group
meeting
The Brussels, Morris and Grey
Diabetic Group met at Huronlea,
Brussels on Wednesday, April 19.
The meeting opened with a
reading, RSVP.
Betty Evans (Betty from Bayfield)
was guest speaker. She began her
talk with a poem she had written on
diabetes. She said she can sit and
write several poems in a day; she just
has to fit herself into the topic on
which she is writing. She brought
her books, a collection of poems,
with the proceeds going to the group
home she runs.
Evans spoke about many
adventures she has had during her
lifetime with many animals. She has
also made many moves from the city
of Toronto, to various small towns
and now resides close to Bayfield.
Nelva Scott thanked her and time
was allowed for many questions
while lunch was served.
Business consisted of reviewing
the Diabetic Education Day in
Mitchell, requests from Mrs. Scott
for ideas for upcoming meetings for
the fall and reminder that Dr.
Heather Percival will be speaking at
the May meeting.
user pay under the act," Kelly said.
The provincial act requiresusers to
pay for all capital costs within the
project as well as operational costs.
On the same principle, the interest of
carrying the costs needs to be paid
by the residents, which means more
costs for them the longer it's put off.
"That's the problem we were
having, who's going to cover this
interest," said councillor Jim
Nelemans.
Some residents showed an interest
in having access to all Belgrave lots
now, and councillor Neil Warwick
warned that it would come with an
increase in capital costs. Warwick
said the municipality couldf t carry
that much over an indefinite amount
of time without more money up
front.
"What bank could you go to and
say I want to borrow $800,000 but I
don't know when I'm ever going to
pay it back," Warwick said.
The issue of selling and buying
homes came up, as some proof was
asked to go on the title to show the
capital share had been paid for.
Clerk Nancy Michie said that any
change of property is given a tax
certificate showing all charges
against the land, with the option of
who pays it.
"The way our policy is set up, it's
up to the landowner how they want
to handle it, if they want to pay it
then or if the new owner wants to
assume it," Michie said.
One resident asked if hydrants
were a possibility during the
construction.
With two- to four-inch water
pipes being used for the most part, it
would be too cost prohibitive to
make hydrants an option.
"It was far too expensive because
of the size of the pipes you needed to
have. any capacity to make the
hydrant useful,'-" McKee said.
Hydrants were also not included in
the plan approved by the ministry,
and therefore not covered in the
grant. An owner of two vacant lots in
Belgrave spoke, saying he doesn't
think it's fair to be charged a fee for
a service he'll never use.
"I would think the person who
ends up buying the lots would need
to drill a well, so he'd be expecting a
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
Barb Springall, administrator for
the County Homes for the Aged, said
that the outbreak at Huronlea is not
influenza, but a stomach virus.
While the home is allowing one-
cost anyway," he said.
Another said the water system was
handled wrong from the start, as the
plan should have included pipe for
all of Belgrave and would qualify for
the grant on all the work instead of
paying for additions. McKee
responded that the grant only covers
upgrading the existing system, no
matter how much work ends up
being done.
"We couldn't have got a cent more
than we did now; the grant was to
improve the well systems that were
there," McKee said.
Again, people made the point that
having a water system for all of
Belgrave is redundant, as people
with wells don't need the water. The
jeopardy lies in people getting water
from a neighbouring well, as a new
owner can cut them off for liability
on-one visitation, all the big
programs have been cancelled to
give "things a chance to settle
down," said Springall.
"The home is not closed. We just
ask that if you come to see someone
you see them and not bring a big
group with you."
reasons.
"This is what this will do, if
someone gets in a pinch in Belgrave,
they can get water," McKee said.
Something that wasn't explained
at the public meeting is that all
Belgrave lots will be charged the
same capital cost, whether they have
access to water now or in the future.
Based on input from the residents,
council proposed building water
access for all lots now, anti charging
$2,000 up front. After that, residents
have 25 years to pay the rest, with all
being required to hook in or start
paying within the first 15 years.
Another public meeting will be
announced when council has agreed
on a date.
Our
mistake
The information under the picture
of Easy as 1, 2, 3 in the April 27
issue should have read that Dana.
four was playing a counting game at
the Esso family Math program for
children from junior kindergarten to
Grade I and their parents at Brussels
Public School on Wednesday, April
19.
We apologize for the error.
• Stomach virus
hits Huronlea