The final piece of the puzzle is now in place for the North End Sewer Project in Southampton.
Saugeen Shores Council approved an agreement Monday night with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation.
Southampton ward councillor Diane Huber says the agreement ensures the Saugeen Ojibway Nation will be consulted throughout the project to install sanitary sewers north of the Saugeen River.
She says they have concerns about possible archaeological finds and also have a land claim filed in parts of the project area.
The municipality will compensate the Saugeen Ojibway Nation with 75 thousand dollars to review and analyze the impact of the sewer project and ensure archaeological protocol is complied with.
Huber says typically the federal or provincial government has the duty to consult with the aboriginal community but both levels delegated the responsibility in this case to the town.
Huber says that is appropriate because they are neighbours and have a lot of collaboration and cooperation in a number of areas.
She says the agreement will ensure both sides are comfortable with how the project is progressing and outlines protocol in the event of a significant archaeological finding.
Huber believes this agreement is a good beginning and its now much more likely that council will once again engage in these conversations for future projects.
Once council officially approved the agreement they were able to award the tenders for the 20.1 million project.
Harold Sutherland Construction was awarded the A1 contract for 5.9 million dollars while SMRS Construction got the A2 contract for 3.5 million dollars.
Omega won the B contract at 4.8 million dollars and Doug Welsh Construction was awarded the C contract for 1.7 million.
Director of Engineering Dave Burnside says the project has been split into 4 sections due to the tight deadline of getting the work done by March 31st 2011 in order to retain two thirds government funding.
He expects the crews will be working by the end of the month.