Confusion continues to reign over ongoing negotiations between the town and the local school board regarding the sewage treatment plant at Erin District High School.
Months of written correspondence between town and Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) officials has solved nothing.
In fact, the confusion seems to escalate with each letter, prompting councillor John Brennan to wonder why no one was picking up a phone.
Councillors reacted last week to a letter received earlier this month from Paul Scinocca, the board’s manager of capital and renewal projects, which states board officials “understand and accept … the town is pursuing disposal of the sewage from its facility [Centre 2000] rather than collectively with the board.”
But councillors maintained that is not what their Feb. 26 letter said at all; it simply stated the limit for the town’s portion of a shared system is $200,000 and not $250,000 as suggested by the board.
The town also informed the board it was investigating the possibility of proceeding on its own – using components of the old arena wastewater system used prior to the construction of Centre 2000 and the school – but has not yet made a final decision.
“I think they’ve misinterpreted our letter, I really do,” councillor Barb Tocher said.
Mayor Rod Finnie suggested that may have been done on purpose, and wondered why Scinocca’s letter was not also forwarded to UGDSB Director Martha Rogers, considering town letters were addressed to Rogers in the first place.
“I don’t think there was much doubt in what we said,” Finnie explained.
Town Manager Lisa Hass agreed the town’s letter was “pretty clear,” and told council she has set up a meeting with the town’s lawyer to discuss the matter.
Town council and staff also wondered why there was no response to their latest letter, which was sent one day after receiving Scinocca’s letter of March 5.
“It’s ridiculous,” Hass said of the delay.
Councillor Ken Chapman agreed with Brennan that it wouldn’t hurt to pick up the phone, but added it’s also nice to have a paper trail of the correspondence.
Chapman said if both parties decide to proceed on their own the town needs to make it clear to the board that if their new wastewater system encroaches on town land, council needs to be made aware of it and approve it.
Said Brennan, “I really don’t think they know what they’re doing. All they did was chase the grant.”
The board has received funding approval for the project through the Ministry of Research and Innovation’s Green School Initiative, with a stipulation that all work must be completed by Sept. 1.
However, Brennan suggested the town remain diplomatic in its response to the UGDSB, saying just because the board has been “less than gracious” with its correspondence, does not mean the town has to be.
Tocher agreed, adding, “We don’t have to stoop to their level.”
Finnie suggested the town appear as a delegation at the next UGDSB meeting and Tocher said trustees should also receive a copy of, and comment on, the ongoing correspondence between town and board officials.
Finnie said the town could also peruse old board meeting minutes to see if the matter was ever discussed by trustees. Regardless, the mayor said the matter would be brought back to council’s next meeting (April 6) for further discussion.
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Later in the meeting, council passed a resolution approving a thorough investigation of the old wastewater tanks at the community centre to see if they are usable.
