Township sets rules for work on Sideroad 19, other streets

Residents of Sideroad 19 in Nichol, as well as Burnett Court and Victoria Crescent in the north end of Fer­gus will soon be seeing con­struction to put in water and sewers.

Council approved a bylaw on Monday night to authorize the work. The township receiv­ed an Infrastructure Stimulus Fund grant that will see the federal government pay half of the costs, with the township and property owners to pay the remainder.

That means Burnett Court work will get $324,300 in grant cash, and face a total of $515,400 in costs. The town­ship has $91,500 in capital re­serves, and another water works reserve of $99,600.

Victoria Crescent payments are from the grant of $444,800, $135,650 in capital reserves, and $132,100 in water reserves, for a total cost of $712,550.

Sideroad 19 will see a grant of $1.03-million, with develop­ment charges of $266,300, the township’s slot reserve of $266,300, plus capital reserves for $386,950, and a water capi­tal reserve of $421,600, for a total of $2,37-million.

Treasurer Wes Snarr said in his report that consistent with the township’s past practice, connections for water and sewer services will be installed to the property line of existing and potential building lots.

Township policy does not require owners to connect to municipal services unless the extension of services is the result of a provincial officer’s order by the Ministry of En­viron­ment or the local Health Unit, or a petition to the municipality by the residents to extend municipal services to an area as a local improvement.”

Snarr added if owners choose to connect to the ser­vices, they must connect to both: sewer and water.

He said the township had passed a bylaw to allow resi­dents to spread their payments over ten years, for their con­nections and frontage costs, but a number of property owners sought a 15-year term instead, so he was recommending they be allowed that.

He noted the township will be responsible for any wells af­fected by the work, but that MOE regulations state the town­ship can chose to refurbish the old well, drill a new one, or provide municipal services, and it is township policy to pro­vide municipal water.

Snarr reported to mini­mize the impact on water and sewer rates, the following cost shar­ing agreement is pro­posed:

– the township provides water service to the house and decommissions the well at its cost; and

– the township provides ser­vice to septic bed connection, and decommissions the septic  bed at its cost. The connection fee is waived, and the owner is responsible for the frontage and area wide charge. The same financing for voluntary connec­tions is made available to the owner. The current frontage charge is $98 per metre,and the current area wide charge is $5,686.

Councillor Kirk McElwain, at the April 19 committee of the whole meeting, wondered if there is any benefit to a home­owner to get the work done right away, or wait two years.

Public Works Director Ken Elder said normally home­own­ers wait until construction of the lines and road is done, and then the contractor deals with each homeowner.

He said the benefit is the contractor is already on site, but it is up to the homeowner when the connections to the home are made.

But, he added, “I’ve never seen prices go down.”

In answer to another ques­tion by McElwain, Elder said there are 49 dug wells in the area, and about 19 will not be affected, depending on the ele­vation of the sewer. “Thirty could possibly be dried up while we’re doing the work.”

Elder said it is no disrespect to the owners of dug wells, but shallow wells “live and die by what comes out of the sky.”

He said the for­m­er town­ships created 15 fringe areas around the urban centres of Elora and Fergus, and this is the first the township is provid­ing services to.

“It’s been ten years, but we’re getting to them,” he said, adding work will include storm drains, curb and gutters, side­walks on one side of the road, and sewer and water.

Dale Murray, who sits on the source water protection com­mittee at the Grand River Conservation Authority, said all dug wells are identified by the committee as a threat for con­ta­mi­nation, and “The more [homes] on sewer and water the better.”

Council approved the work.

Elder said he expects  the work will begin by the end of May.

 

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