THE BLUE MOUNTAINS - Council officially adopted the bylaw for sewer and water capital charge rates for Camperdown service area on Monday, January 25 after five months of public process.

The bylaw for capital water charges showed the charge for a benefiting property is $2,171 payable over six years at four payments per year. The charge for a partial benefiting property owner is $1,479 payable over the same term.

The bylaw for capital sewer charges for the Camperdown service area stated that property owners will be sent a bill for $12,544 payable over 20 years at four payments per year.

One local resident was given a chance to speak at the meeting and he asked council to make the debt transferable in the event the property is sold. Council left the bylaw as it was presented with a clause stating that if the property is sold, the amount owing is due in full.

On January 10, council voted unanimously to adopt several motions pertaining to the Camperdown capital charges for sewer and water servicing at its regular meeting on Monday, January 10. This decision was made after almost five months of public meetings, debate and staff reports.

Council decided on the traditional unit is a unit billing system for Camperdown and will grant deferral of payment for some properties not benefitting from fire hydrant coverage.

Fire Hydrants

Council first dealt with the properties that will not be within 100 metres of a fire hydrant, and directed staff to defer payment for the 16 properties not immediately benefitting from fire flow storage via a fire hydrant.

A report from capital accountant, Darcy Chapman showed there are currently 46 properties on Hidden Lake Road and James Street. The report stated these were the only properties in the entire Camperdown service area that are not within 100 metres of a hydrant.

Staff said that the flow data suggests that hydrants can be extended throughout James Street and Hidden Lake Road to the base of the hill, and fire flows will be in compliance with the Ontario Building Code. A map drafted by staff showed an added six hydrants.

Director of engineering and public works, Reg Russwurm, said that all the pipes and leads for hydrants in the area are already installed, and the town will only have to install the barrels for the hydrants.

With the additional six hydrants there are still 16 properties outside the range of the fire hydrants. The fire department can bring water on trucks, and can use a nearby fire hydrant to re-fill, so the residents are not without fire protection.

Chapman calculated the portion of the reservoir used for fire flow storage is about 44 per cent, which translates to a reduction of $692 for those 16 properties. That payment would be deferred until the town is able to provide hydrants and adequate fire protection flows in that area.

Staff will bring forward a report to the Infrastructure and Recreation committee regarding the installation of the new fire hydrants. If committee and council approve, staff expects the hydrants will be installed by the summer.

Unit is a Unit

Council directed staff to include the traditional equal charge for each property (a unit is a unit) formula to calculate the capital charges for each resident.

Following a well-attended public meeting last year, staff prepared a report that looked at options for calculating capital charges based on assessment, number of bathrooms, number of bedrooms and property size.

Deputy Mayor Duncan McKinlay said he weighed each option carefully and initially thought the assessment-based calculation was the perfect answer, until he read the problems included in the staff report.  

"We went through quite a process," said McKinlay. "I was quite frustrated. There didn't seem to be a better way than a unit is a unit is a unit."

Councillor John McGee explained that assessment formulas, which are used for taxation, are used to redistribute wealth, but a capital charge for sewer or water servicing is a user charge based on consumption, not wealth distribution. He agreed that a unit is a unit charge is a better way to go.

Councillor Cameron Kennedy and Mayor Ellen Anderson agreed with McGee and McKinlay that this was the least un-fair solution.

Repayment plan to start in August

Council directed staff to include a 20-year repayment plan for wastewater services and to extend the original four-year plan for water to a six-year plan. Council also directed staff to start collecting the money from residents in the third quarter tax billing, projected for August 25, 2010.

Local residents attended the meeting and appeared as a delegation to suggest that the repayment plan for water be between 10 and 20 years. The presenters, Mike Ballard and David Creech, said they didn't think the town had to rush into repayin the developers since the agreement originally signed several years ago was for the town to use its best efforts to collect the money to repay the developer. The two also suggested that the repayment plans start in January of 2011.

CAO Paul Graham said the town was calculating the repayment plan based on its own affordability criteria, which is used in the town's calculations for every capital project.

He said that if the town strayed from that affordability criteria ($1,500 per year), then it wouldn't be fair to people who have had to pay for other, similar projects, like the one in the Lora Bay servicing area in 2009.  

Council said it could not leave the collection for another year, and another council.

Councillor John McGee said there was a breakdown in communication for this project and suggested that town council and staff work to resolve that. He suggested that as staff compiles a list or projects going ahead, it lets the public know what's coming in the next three to five years, where its going to be and who will have to pay.

Staff will bring forward a bylaw for council's consideration at the January 25 meeting, and, pending approval, will send out bills to residents in the Camperdown service area.