Residents living north of the Saugeen River in Southampton aren’t pleased about plans to install a sanitary system in their neighbourhood.
Resident Joyce Stirling presented a petition to Council Monday night containing 265 signatures opposing plans by the town to install sanitary sewers in the area.
Stirling says her petition represents 60 percent of the assessed properties in that part of town.
Properties north of the river are currently served by private septic systems.
Stirling says the project has been introduced in an anti-democratic way without consultation and speculates the town has deliberately avoided contact with property owners on the issue.
The town recently received two-thirds of the estimated 17.6 million dollar project cost in the form of a federal/provincial grant.
The municipal portion of the project, estimated at over 5.8 million dollars, would be covered by ratepayers living in the area who would also have to pay to connect their homes to the system.
Stirling says the majority of the residents are retired and on fixed incomes and have seen the value of their pensions decline recently, leading to concerns about covering their share of the cost for the sewer system.
She says some senior citizens will be forced into debt or will have to move and the issue has already caused some of them significant emotional stress.
Chief Administrative Officer Ron Brown says it is possible for the town to defer beginning the collection of payments from ratepayers for three years after the system is installed.
Director of Engineering Services Dave Burnside highlighted the potential environmental and health hazards that septic systems can pose, along with government policies that reinforce the need to protect the environment and public health, which he believes this project would do.
Mayor Mike Smith stresses that no final decision has been made to go ahead with the project and that it is only in the environmental assessment and engineering stage.
This isn’t the first time installing sewers north of the Saugeen has been considered.
Brown says after a study was conducted in 1995, the former Town of Southampton decided not to proceed with the project because of the cost.
Councillor Fred Schildroth says most of the septic systems probably work well, but the potential is there for trees to interfere with them because of the significant amount of wooded area.
Councillor Diane Huber says the project has potential benefits to all of Saugeen Shores and isn’t opposed to having some of the costs borne by all ratepayers, not just those whose homes would be connected to the system.
Brown says when streets are reconstructed because of sewer projects, the cost is applied to the entire tax base, not just the property owners in the affected neighbourhoods.
Brown acknowledges that residents are surprised by how sudden planning for the project has come about.
He says it is because of the federal/provincial grant which requires the project be completed by 2011.
Deputy Mayor Doug Freiburger says he will support the project when it comes time to make an official vote on it.
Freiburger says he draws the line when it comes to the environment and believes the sewer system is the best option when it comes to protecting local water and soil.
He says if the sewer expansion doesn’t go ahead, he will make efforts to make inspections of private septic systems mandatory in Saugeen Shores.
Stirling says a lot of the questions and issues surrounding the project need more clarity and councillors need to spend more time looking into them.
She says the plan has been rushed and council is missing several steps when it comes to hearing the questions and concerns of residents.
Mayor Mike Smith cautions that the real cost of the project will not be known until it goes to tender, but appreciates the comments and concerns voiced by the residents and they will continue to accept them.
Two public meetings have already been held on the project as well.