Tag Archives: Mayor of Westport

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Public meeting held on November 14 to consider proposed 2017 Water and Wastewater Rates

Thank you to those who came to the special Council and public meeting on Monday night.  Your comments were taken to heart.  I hope that the presentation on the proposed 2017 rates was helpful.

When the 2017 water and wastewater budget was being prepared by Staff, we discussed that I did not want another mid-year surprise like we had in 2016.  Consequently, they prepared a balanced budget for Council’s review and for discussion at the public meeting on Monday.

I want to give you some context on the proposed changes. The last water/waste water sewer rate increase was in 2014, which left us with the same rate in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  The 2017 proposed increase for basic water (up to 17m3) is 3.7% (additional $2.09/month).  The 2017 proposed change for basic sewer is -1.3% (decrease of $0.91/month).

Over the past few years, the extensive amount of capital invested in the water/waste water system has been largely funded by long term debt.  Moving forward, this requires an increase in the capital charges portion of the rates.  We need to budget to pay off the principal of these loans.  We cannot continue to pay for our debt by borrowing more money.

The proposed water/waste water capital charges increase from $8.79/month to $19.30 (120%), which means an overall increase of 15.7% on your monthly bill (additional $22.20).  The proposed monthly bills for the majority of users will be $164.04.  Currently they are $141.84.

We all knew that driving the bus through these 4 years would have some bumps in the road and I hope you see this as another example of getting our house in order.

If you have any questions about the proposed rate changes, our budget or our debt – please contact either Scott Bryce or Anne Marie Koiner (both at 613-273-2191) or me (613-273-9195).

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Welcome to our Park!

The path was completed in Lockwood Memorial Field and Park this week.  Come out and enjoy a stroll – or a jog – on our new 1/4 mile path.  Yes – for fitness buffs, 4 times around the path is 1 mile!  Westport in  Bloom will be placing a few of the heavy park benches beside the path so that you can take a break and enjoy the “green” in the middle of the Village.  With the tennis court and shuffleboard fences removed and those surfaces replaced with grass, the park  – well – it now looks like a park!

Next year, the cenotaph will be relocated inside the George St gates and we have applied for a grant that will allow us to build a playground near the firehall.  No tax dollars have been used for the Lockwood Memorial Field and Park regeneration – grants and donations have and will continue to cover the costs.  Many thanks to our generous donors and to the Village’s hard working staff .

Here is the view from George St.

lockwood-park-view-from-george-st

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Westport’s Own Sesquicentennial Competition – Create the Westport Brand!

Canada is turning 150 in 2017 and Westport is planning events all year.  And we want to make this our own, home grown celebration including our own 150th Branding – something that is unique to Westport.
The Mayor’s Sesquicentennial Task Force is holding a competition open to everyone, young and old, groups and individuals, school children, to create a brand that captures the uniqueness of Westport – our traditions, personality, geography, etc – as we celebrate Canada’s 150th.
Your entry must be suitable to be displayed in a variety of medium – i.e. paper, cloth, electronic and must include the Canada sesquicentennial flag somewhere in the design.
The deadline for submission is Friday, October 28 @ 4:00 p.m. and all entries become property of the Village.  Entries can be dropped off at Town Hall or emailed to Niki Bresse – nbresse@villageofwestport.ca.
Judging will occur on November 1 by a panel of judges selected from the Mayor’s Sesquicentennial Task Force.
The Prize? – the Pride of recognition and having your design displayed throughout 2017.
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Please consider completing the attached “Be Well” survey

Country Roads Community Health Centre has been working hard to get people in Westport and Rideau lakes to complete the “Be Well” survey.  To date, they have over 200 responses but would really like 500 or more.  The survey, funded by Trillium, is time limited and closes November 1st.

As you can see from the Calgary summary attached to the link, results allow for a variety of opportunities to plan and communicate.  High response numbers will make the results much more relevant and useful.  Please help us get stronger data and complete the survey.

http://fluidsurveys.com/s/CRCHC-BeWell-survey/

 

 

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Grant Application to Ontario government for waste water treatment plant due Oct 21

The Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF3) grants are due Friday, October 21.  The Village is requesting the maximum amount of $2 million – of which 90% will be grant.  I believe that our application is very strong.  We are adding an updated Asset Management Plan, which has become a significant component to these applications over the past 12 months.

I have been asked several times over the past few months what you, the residents and business owners, can do to help support our application.  At a recent Committee of the Whole meeting, I agreed with the request to provide a sample outline of a letter to the Minister of Infrastructure that could be included in our submission.

If you wish to send correspondence or speak directly to Minister Chiarelli, here is his email and toll free telephone number.

bob.chiarelli@ontario.ca                 Toll-free: 1-800-268-7095

For anyone who wants to have a letter included in our submission, you can drop it off at Town Hall or send directly to nbressee@villageofwestport.ca.  Below is a suggestion only.

The Honourable Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Infrastructure

900 Bay Street, 5th Floor, Mowat Block

Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2E1

Dear Minister Chiarelli

I am a resident or business owner  (check one) in the Village of Westport.  Our municipal waste water treatment plant has been the subject of a Class C – Municipal Environmental Assessment, received support from the MOECC to proceed with the approved alternate solution and recently was given approval by Municipal Council after reaching the 70% completion stage of the detailed design.

The existing system is called Snowfluent, which treats effluent by turning it into snow.  Well, that is how it is supposed to work.  For a variety of reasons, it has not worked very well for the past several years.  Since 2014, the village has found it necessary to haul effluent to another treatment facility – approximately $800,000 worth of haulage – instead of dumping the waste into Upper Rideau Lake.

We are a small community of under 700 full time residents and need your help for the proposed rehabilitation of the waste water treatment plant, which will remove the public safety concerns and the moratorium on new builds and allow my village to grow.

Please support our OCIF3 application.  Our community is depending on you.

Yours truly,