ARTICLE BY BETTY KONC
NOV.21 , 2005
The Wainfleet Water/Sewer Committee has been working diligently since Oct./04 on the proposed water/sewer project that most of the residents are objecting to. We started with a clear idea that many of the year round residents and a large portion of the seasonal residents are in total disagreement with this project. From that came the idea that we needed to do our own research to find out how many residents object and why.
We put together a survey paper and over the Christmas period tried to get as many filled out as possible as well as getting protest signs up on the lawns of folks who are not afraid to make a gesture. Our survey was pooh-poohed by the Public Advisory Council as well as by the Mayor and the Regional staffers as being biased. Not having the huge amount of dollars available to us that the Region has to get a consultant to ask "unbiased" questions we did the best we could with the intelligent group of people that signed on for that committee.
Personally I believe that the survey was well worded. The Value Analysis Exercise the Region held in Feb. was another push for us to get more signs up on the Lakeshore because we knew that the consultants for the VAE would be taking a bus ride down the length of the proposed project. We have over 400 signs up.
We held 2 more public meetings at the United Church over the early spring hoping to help inform residents of the magnitude and possible outcome of what this project might possibly have on our lives in the not too distant future. In the meantime we sent out to all the residents or most of them that we could track down through the mailing list the township gave us, a letter asking for donations toward hiring a lawyer. He has been able to answer a lot of our questions and did put in a very concise and legal objection to the EA when it was finally submitted to the Ministry.
The completed EA was filed in early June of this year and our committee immediatly went into action by going door to door informing residents that the EA was complete and to get the locations it was available at and read it. We also asked residents to write to the Minister of the Environment to ask for a Part II order.
The Ministry received 95 letters asking for a Part II and about 25 letters of concern, this lead the Ministry to ask the Region to send in more documentation on the proposal, thereby extending the time before the Ministry gets to review it in its entirety. We are waiting now for that decision, is it a go or isn't it. We should know from the Ministry by the end of Dec.
There have been 2 applications for funding submitted by the Township/Region, the first was back in Mar. and we where turned down and the latest was submitted in Sept. We are still waiting to hear. Due to the vast number of applications the decision on who gets the money won't be made by mid Dec. as advised but more like late Jan. There is one more intake for applications for the COMRIF funding but the amount of money available is pretty small.
In the meanwhile I have called anybody and everybody I can think of I have called the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, no response, I have called the Municipal Affairs office, I was told by the minister in Ottawa that I had no business objecting to a project that the Region has decided is in our best interests and that the Region is a well run entity. Needless to say I just had to e-mail this jackA$$ back and ask him if the Region was so well run how come we have at least 2 towns wanting to remove themselves from the Region, no reply on that one. I have also been in contact with the Ministry of the Environment just to keep them appraised of our continuing objections.
During all of these things that we the committee or myself have endeavored to do to stop this there has been ongoing letters to the editor in the local newspapers happening. Anybody who wishes to write about this I encourage you to do so we need to keep this in the forefront of the minds of the residents of not only the lakeshore but of the whole of Wainfleet.
Now we need you to tell us where to turn next. Does anybody have any ideas that we might use to help the cause. Some of us are wondering if hiring an engineer to go over the proposed project and see if there a better way could be the next step. We need your help, talk to us.
Thanks to all for your support
Betty Konc Chair Wainfleet Water/Sewer Committee
Mayor Gord Harry
PHONE: (905) 899-2625EMAIL: gharry@township.wainfleet.on.ca Alderman Evan Main PHONE: (905) 899-2633 or (905) 899-1250 EMAIL: emain@township.wainfleet.on.ca Alderman Patrick Robson EMAIL: probson@township.wainfleet.on.ca Alderwoman Barbara Henderson PHONE: (905) 386-0977 EMAIL: bhenderson@township.wainfleet.on.ca Alderman Rudy Warkentin PHONE: (905) 899-1358 EMAIL: rwarkentin@township.wainfleet.on.ca MPP -ERIE-LINCOLN TIM HUDAK , MPP PHONE: (905) 382-0322 FAX : (905) 382-0315 EMAIL: timhudak@niagara.net MPP JOHN MALONEY PHONE: (905) 788-2204 FAX : (905) 788-0071 EMAIL: malonj@parl.gc.ca PROJECT MANAGER , Regional Niagara BOB STEELE EMAIL: bob.steele@regional.niagara.on.ca
They are listening and know we aren't going away!
Here's hoping for some changes to the problems .
