Town council here supports a Maitland Valley Conservation Authority proposal which would see the authority split the cost of maintenance, repairs and/or decommissioning of recreational water and erosion control infrastructure with the municipalities in which the structures are located.
However council would also like to see provincial and federal governments provide more resources to help conservation authorities deal with such structures.
In a letter seeking input from member municipalities, the MVCA states “We have insufficient funding to maintain or repair all of the water and erosion control infrastructure that we are responsible for.”
MVCA’s water and erosion control infrastructure includes three recreational water control structures located in Gorrie (Gorrie Conservation Area in Howick township), Bluevale (Pioneer Conservation Area in the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry) and Brussels (Brussels Conservation Area Huron East township). The authority is also responsible for maintaining the Listowel flood control structure and the Goderich bluffs stabilization project in partnership with the Municipality of North Perth and the Town of Goderich respectively.
“All of these structures were constructed or repaired in the 1970s, ‘80s and early ‘90s when the provincial government had programs in place that provided grants of up to 85 per cent to cover the costs of construction, repairs and maintenance,” the authority points out in its letter.
These funding programs, the MVCA notes were eliminated in the mid 1990s and replaced with a $5 million dollar Water and Erosion Control Infrastructure fund to provide 50% grants to conservation authorities to maintain, repair or decommission structures.
The letter indicates the MVCA board of directors feels that maintenance, repair, or decommissioning of water and erosion control infrastructure should be cost shared on a 50-50 basis with those municipalities where water and erosion control structures are located. The letter points out the MVCA has been utilizing accumulated surplus and general levy funds to finance minor repairs and maintenance to recreational water and erosion control structures.
The MVCA also asked for input on a proposed policy under which the authority would transfer the ownership of any recreational water and erosion control structure that a municipality would like to see replaced, along with associated lands, to the municipality and allow them to pursue funding .
“Everybody’s aware that conservation authorities are similar to municipalities and the funding just doesn’t seem to be going around,” said councillor Dave Turton, Minto’s MVCA representative.
“I’m a great believer in maintenance of the waterways and these dams,” said deputy mayor Ron Faulkner. “I think the provincial government should be stepping up to the plate an putting the money toward the conservation authorities to properly protect those dams, because if those dams break then there’s going to be significant damage,” added Faulker, who asked if the alternative to the MVCA’s funding proposal would be “that all the municipalities in the watershed would be paying?”
“There’s a good chance. They levy would go up,” replied Turton.
Mayor George Bridge said he felt the town should send a letter lobbying the provincial government because, “they need to be taking a little more responsibility on this stuff.”
Council directed staff to advise the MVCA the town has no issue with the cost sharing as proposed and indicating support for the provincial and federal governments taking a more active role in providing funding.
