The Municipality of Bluewater has recently sent out invoices to select households on the lakeshore, in the areas of St. Joseph south to Grand Bend and along the north side of Hwy 83 (Dashwood Road) and the north half of Dashwood. These invoices relate to a Sewer Master Plan project that originally began in 2004 and was part of a Tri-Municipality Sewerage Plant Project. The municipality elected to withdraw from the process in December 2011 due to lack of funding at senior levels of government. In November 2018 council directed staff to bill out the costs of the project. A timeline of events is in this document Lakeshore Collection and Sewage Plant Costs Fact Sheet CA complied by the municipality.
BSRA is trying to clarify what correspondence about the billing for this project might have been sent to the affected residents at the time public meetings took place in 2010 and 2011.
doug hillis
Has there been any progress on the clarification from the Municipality about billing documents sent to the residences concerning the project. I didn’t receive any.
It’s interesting how they can come along after 7 years and request funding. I’ll have to try that sometime.
Karen
Would BSRA ask Bluewater to schedule BSRA for a delegation? The purpose of the delegation would be to show Bluewater that it is wrong to expect shoreline residents to pay an old bill for the municipality. If the municipality expects the shoreline residents to pay consultant fees paid by tax dollars it is only just that all residents in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Bluewater contribute. The Shoreline residents as far as I know did not consent to the municipality hiring a consultant or did they agree to pay the bill. Afterall, shoreline residents pay the greatest percentage of Bluewater,s municipal taxes as is.
Sue Chalmers
Attended all the meetings re this project and there was no indication property owners would be billed for the cost of this project.
Bluewater Muncipality does not intend to hold a public forum to discuss the issue.
I’m sure everyone who received this bill was caught off guard.
Karen
Hi Robin, As I commented today, I don’t think that the Lakeshore Collection & Sewage Plant Billing is legal billing. Residents did not sign a contract for such a study and they did not benefit from the study. The Municipality collects enough property taxes from the Lakeshore Residents and those monies should go towards any studies the municipality wants done for development.
There are many people that do not need to be hooked into a municipal sewer. The Lakeshore people use few municipal services because the majority are not year round residents.
Also, with the new Lakeshore Management Plan, there should be no need ever for a municipal sewer because more development along the fragile banks of Lake Huron are being discouraged. That I believe was already in place.
Baird Consultants was unnecessary also, given the fact the Provincial Policy Statements (PPS) guideline for the municipality was: no new hazards are to be created, existing hazards are not to be aggravated and adverse environmental impacts are not to result. Policy should not be less than the PPS and not greater.
What is your opinion of the Lakeshore Management drafted by Baird? Is it consistent with the PPS or, is it more restrictive and more regulatory?
We will always have cycles of the wrath from Lake Huron waves. There will be good times and bad.