The price of the soon-to-be-built biodigester near Kilsyth has climbed to more than 3 million dollars.
But Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth still plan to pay the total cost of the waste disposal system within seven-and-a-half years, as originally planned.
Maple Reinders of Mississauga and Cambridge has been awarded the tender to build the biodigester.
Georgian Bluffs council approved the move at its meeting and chief administrative officer Bill White told councillors that Chatsworth also approved it at its own meeting earlier that day.
The biodigester, which will be the first in the province to be municipally owned, is a joint project of the two townships.
It will be built southeast of Kilsyth, near the boundary of the two municipalities.
It’s a waste disposal system that handles septage, sludge and agricultural products and turns it into energy.
It was expected to cost 2.5 million dollars, and two-thirds of that amount will be covered by the Canada Builds infrastructure program.
The price has climbed to just over 3.1 million plus GST — which was the lowest tender submitted.
Georgian Bluffs Mayor Alan Barfoot says there is no hope of convincing the federal and provincial governments to increase the amount of money they’re providing for the project.
That means Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth will be on the hook for approximately 1.5 million dollars, as opposed to the 850 thousand originally thought.
Georgian Bluffs will pay its portion of the cost with gas tax revenues.
But the biodigester will eventually pay for itself through tipping fees.
Construction will start in late winter or early spring, and the unit is expected to be up and running sometime next summer.