Essex to continue providing maintenance on owned, but not assumed beach roads
Staff for the Town of Essex will continue to provide minimal maintenance on owned and not assumed beach roads, as per Council’s direction at the June 17 meeting.
That will include the current snow removal practices.
Administration will also upgrade owned and not assumed beach roads to the current Town of Essex development standard in accordance with the process outlined in the Local Improvement Charges Priority Lien Status, as amended, upon request from benefitting property owners.
The Report to Council on the matter notes there for over 40 beach roads not assumed by the Town. A number of these are private roads, and others are owned by the Town but have not been assumed.
When the Town is approached to upgrade an owned and not assumed beach road, residents are made aware of the necessary improvements needed to bring it to the Town’s standard through Local Improvement Charges Regulations.
Discussion on this matter first took place at the June 5, 2023 meeting, where Council passed Councillor Brad Allard’s motion that directed Administration to review and report on the current level of service for Town owned but not assumed beach roads. In addition, staff was also directed to provide low-cost options for raising the level of service of the roads with 2023 Council Contingency Funds and future budgets, if appropriate.
Councillor Jason Matyi was not sure the recommendations coming back to Council from Administration captured the intent of the motion made a year ago. He noted Council was looking for an alternative path for individuals living on these beach roads to be able to upgrade their roads, inexpensively.
There was some question at that time about if they wanted to use a different type of aggregate other than having to bring that road all the way up to the new municipal standard, which is cost-prohibitive, Matyi said.
Director of Infrastructure Services, Kevin Girard, responded there are no inexpensive ways to upgrade a road. When looking at it from an operational perspective, the utilization of different materials or allowing different roads to use different materials, based on what their judgement would be, is not a good practice for the Town.
He noted the Town does not have a constant supply of millings, and would have to engage a contractor in purchasing those things, in accordance with the Procurement Bylaw.
The Town’s current practice is if the road is gravel, the Town places gravel back and maintains it to the minimal maintenance standard. If any upgrades are wanted by the residents, they would have to submit a petition to do so.
This, Girard noted, is a contentious subject.
“This is the best approach,” he said of the recommendations outlined in the Report to Council adding that is the practice a previous Term of Council adopted in 2008 after significant consultation with beach road homeowners.
Council would have to provide direction if it would want Administration to look into anything further.
Matyi asked if the same quality gravel is used on other roads in the municipality. Girard responded the Town uses various materials, but generally uses recycled material to capacity. That provides significant cost-savings to the Town to do so.
In answering Councillor Rodney Hammond’s question regarding an email that came into the Town regarding materials that can be detrimental to diving up and down the roads, Girard noted that the Town crushes that recycled material. That process does remove steel, but it can be missed by the magnets used and can end up on the road.
In addition, the Town uses a portable magnet when it grades the road, as well. As a better practice, the Town will place the magnet on the grader as maintenance is undertaken, and staff will go over it again to improve that process.
Mayor Sherry Bondy understands the Local Improvement Charges and how the Town wants beach road owners to bring streets up to Town standards before they are assumed. She spoke of how more development is being allowed on beach roads, and how homeowners on these roads pay the same amount of taxes as many others.
They are getting more vocal about when the roads are wet and mucky, and they want to have other options.
Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
