An email from Councillor Martinello regarding the Brighton Sewage Plant & Butler St/Division St lntersection 1. This Update discusses two issues debated at the Dec 22, 2014 special council mtg - the Brighton sewage treatment plant & the removal of STOP signs at the intersection of Butler & Division Streets. Brighton Sewage Treatment Plant 2. At its 22 Dec, 2014 special mtg, council considered the following motion moved by Mayor Walas & seconded by Councillor Martinello: Whereas one of the Municipality of Brightons largest responsibilities is the collection & treatment of wastewater; And whereas the Municipality of Brighton must strive to maintain high standards in wastewater treatment to ensure there is minimal effect on Presquile Bay; And whereas a poorly operated lagoon creates objectionable odours that effect our quality of life and result in the discharge of poorly treated effluent that can adversely effect the aquatic life of Presquile Bay; And whereas the Municipality of Brighton has been charged by the Ministry of the Environment for wastewater treatment offenses; And whereas the ability to resolve these issues has proven unsuccessful and that time is of the essence; Now therefore be it resolved, that in the interest of Public Health and Safety, the Municipality of Brighton Council issue an Request for Proposal (RFP) for an external professional, to be included in the 2015 budget, in consultation with the Ministry of the Environment, and further that council make the selection of and transfer all operations of the Water Pollution Control Plant to an independent operator on an interim basis and further that the independent operator provide a full peer review of all actions taken to date, review all documentation and all reports and provide in detail the findings of the peer review and subsequent recommendations in a report to council. 3. In a vote recorded as follows, the motion passed. FOR the motion: Mayor Walas; Councillors Martinello, McMurray, Tadman AGAINST the motion: Councillors Vink, Ostrander, Baker 4. In my most recent Update 14/24 - and many times before - I have spoken & written about my ongoing concerns about the operation of the Brighton sewage treatment plant & what I believe to be, the ongoing pollution of Presquile Bay. So my reasons for seconding - & then voting FOR - this motion are many, but can be reduced to the following: (a) I believe that for too long, too much taxpayers money, too much time and too much council & staff effort have been wasted making no progress on a very important issue; and (b) at her report to Council on Dec 2014, Mrs Catherine Chisholm - Brighton Manager of Environmental Services - & the RV Anderson Associates Limited consultant report recommended going forward with the implementation of a $2,500,000 project to install enhanced aeration and secondary clarification at the sewage treatment plant. This recommendation was made despite the fact that unknown substance(s) -unknown in both source & composition -,were passing through the sewage treatment plant & killing off bacteria in the Poo-Gloos and despite the fact that the proposed aeration & clarification would not address the issue of the unknown substance(s). This made no common sense to me. And it raised a bigger & more important issue. If these unknown substance(s) are passing through the sewage treatment plant & killing off bacteria in the Poo-Gloos what impact are they having on - what I believe to be - our most valuable economic & natural resource, Presquile Bay? Butler Street/Division Street Intersection 5. At its August 11, 2014 mtg, council passed a motion approving the replacement of selected traffic signs and reduction of speed limit in the Municipality of Brighton as recommended by the Director of Public works & Development. Among the recommendations approved by council was the recommendation to replace the 4 way STOP at the intersection of Butler & Division Streets with Yield signs on Division Street. 6. Over the past number of weeks, members of council received a number of e-mails from Brighton taxpayers expressing serious safety concerns related to the removal of the 4 way STOP. In my view, these concerns also raised serious potential liability issues. 7. At last nights special council mtg, Councillor McMurray moved - and I seconded - a motion to add the 4 way STOP issue to the mtg agenda. A majority of council approved this addition to the agenda. Then, Councillor McMurray moved - and Councillor Tadman seconded - a motion to reinstall the 4 way STOP at the intersection of Butler & Division Streets prior to the restart of the school year in January 2015. This motion received unanimous approval of council & Mr Drzewiecki agreed that the reinstallation of the 4 way STOP - at the intersection of Butler and Division Streets - could be completed by the restart of the school year in January 2015. 8. There is nothing confidential in this e-mail. Please feel free to distribute it as you see fit. 9. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions about the preceding, or any other, issues.` John Martinello 613 475 5120 #brpoli
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 20:02:59 +0000
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