Municipal servicing study will prioritize area around Talisman

The new master servicing study is using a “minimum” population that includes the proposed Beaver Valley Development subdivision in the existing users.

A representative from GEI, the firm doing the study, came to council to look for direction about what should be included in the draft study that will be brought back in September.

That involved council voting on different aspects that had been included in the last study in 2017, including proposals to service Eugenia, add municipal water in Flesherton, and service Beaver Valley houses.

Recommendations must go back to a regular meeting of council for a final decision.

While the study looks into the future to 2054, it will be revisited in five years.

HOW MANY HOUSES?

One part of carrying on to the draft plan stage is to decide how many new houses and apartments will be added to Grey Highlands – without benefit of a crystal ball, as several around the table said.

Two different projections have been made. A lower number came from Grey County, and a higher number from the 2017 Master Servicing Plan (based on development applications). Population is running under the 2017 projections right now.

The Grey County projection forecasts about 1,350 people in 22 years, and Mayor McQueen found that low. Coun. Tom Allwood said that the figure needed to be realistic, and that the county numbers were understated, even if only known Markdale growth is considered.

When asked, Director Shawn Moyer said the numbers for what’s approved in Markdale right now would be more than 2,000 more people, considerably above the Grey figure.

Council decided to use both Grey County numbers and the present estimates of development application.

One clear direction from about 150 residents surveyed earlier in the Master Servicing Study process is that they are concerned about costs.

The study will help the municipality as a whole re-coup costs for servicing through Development Charges in the future, said Grey Highlands staff member Shawn Moyer. He said that the study is paid for by revenue from the current users of the system.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The firm recommended focusing the Environmental Assessment going forward on Kimberley-Amik-Talisman (K-A-T) water and Amik wastewater.

When the firm looked at that area, it included the population in the Beaver Valley Development Group proposal as existing users. The presenter said that the study would consider that as the minimum population alternative.

The firm also recommended looking at the Markdale area from the perspective of expanding services into West Grey. Council agreed with that approach, noting that Chapman’s has considered expanding into West Grey in the recent past. West Grey has also been supportive.

The firm recommended deferring consideration of Eugenia and Flesherton, although they were mentioned in the 2017 study.

Council agreed with not including Flesherton servicing changes in a servicing study until after the Official Plan is updated. It also agreed not to include Eugenia and Eugenia Lake at this time.

DIFFERING OPINIONS

Coun. Joel Loughead called the proposal on the Lower Talisman lands the most pressing hot-button issue. He said it still needed a careful look by council, and said he could not agree with prioritizing it for the servicing study at this time.

The priorities as presented were endorsed by a slim margin, 4-3. Voting against the motion were Coun. Loughead, Coun. Paul Allen and Coun. Dan Wickens.

Coun. Tom Allwood said that the study is a high-level look at the costs and benefits, and council needs to be aware of what’s involved in servicing in the K-A-T area.

He added that the minimum stated by the firm doesn’t take into account Talisman, and council should ask the firm to look at that area carefully to aid in good decisions.

In Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen’s view, if there are concerns that makes looking at the system and its capabilities and the costs involved important. He said it is the information that council needs.

K-A-T

Coun. Loughead suggested that more people in Amik may become full-time residents, and those lots now have the right to add Additional Dwelling Units.

He asked if the K-A-T system could be expanded to allow more users, and heard from Mr. Moyer that the study will be trying to ensure protection of the natural environment, for example comparing the impact of many private systems vs. one public system for wastewater.

About 150 to 160 users are now on the Amik wastewater system and about 170-188 users on the K-A-T water system, the engineer said.

The KAT usage is at 37 percent today, and it was noted that was the actual measured use, not the allocation. Mayor McQueen suggested that perhaps numbers prior to 2010 could be considered to give an idea of usage when Talisman was operating.

The consulting firm stated that in 2008 the maximum day flow (which is how water use is measured), was 392 cubic metres and the 2023 “max day” was 212 cubic metres.

A servicing plan for the subdivision was submitted with the Beaver Valley Development Group proposal, and the engineering firm said it could be used in the master servicing study.

Coun. Allen said his concern was the Talisman Inn property itself, which could get up and running, and that would add usage that would be over and above what the subdivision would use.

“We have no idea what the future really is,” Mayor McQueen said, “but we have to look at what’s set aside”. Talisman has a certain number of water allocated to the three building which it is still paying for, he said.

Staff answered a question about how the geography of the valley would affect extending services to the Beaver Valley Ski Club from K-A-T.

Director Shawn Moyer gave a few quick ideas, noting that pumping drinking water uphill is done in many places. But those are all more specific design concerns, which are not what the servicing study is addressing, he said.

MARKDALE AREA

The Deputy Mayor said that while the servicing study mentions extending services to West Grey that perhaps there could be conversation about extending services south on Hwy. 10, if there was interest from a landowner south of what is now the Markdale boundary.

Mr. Moyer said because of the drop-off in elevation a sewage pumping site might be required, but that could be done. He said that an extended area around Markdale is being considered. But some West Grey residents are connected already, and there are some problems coming up that have to be addressed, Mr. Moyer said.

Coun. Tom Allwood mentioned that Grey County has talked about there being an industrial park developed in Markdale in years to come, possibly as much as 500 acres. Mr. Moyer said that the developer would have to pay those servicing costs.

OTHER AREAS

The firm recommended deferring Flesherton servicing plans until after the Official Plan update is complete. There is a lack of public support for municipal water in the Flesherton area, she said, but the reasons to consider it would be for fire protection and environmental concerns about having many users on one aquifer. Extending wastewater to more users in Flesherton also could be considered.

The extension of services from Markdale to other communities mentioned in the 2017 plan was ruled out because of the cost, she said. In Eugenia, she noted the same possible environmental impact is possible from many individual systems on one aquifer. She noted that it’s cost-prohibitive to extend services from Flesherton or Amik to Eugenia.

The draft plan would include a recommendation of when or how to service Flesherton and Eugenia, she said.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Residents can comment on this phase of the plan review at the moment on the project page on the municipal website or by email to moyers@greyhighlands.ca.

The firm GEI was hired to do the update to the Master Servicing Plan Update to the 2017 plan. It needs to take a high-level “best guess” because no projections of population can be certain, said director Shawn Moyer.

“We don’t want to get bogged down in the detail,” he said, but just give the firm an idea of where council wants to see growth in the next few decades.

At this point, the municipality is giving direction to the engineering firm as to where to focus. The firm will go away and do the analysis and bring back a draft plan in September. That will also be open for comment.

The firm’s representatives included results from an initial questionnaire. The most frequent theme in the comments was concern about costs, and second to that was the opinion that municipal wastewater / water wasn’t wanted. The third on the list was a concern about increasing growth. The questionnaire received just under 150 responses.

Beaver Valley Homeowners Association was also consulted, and a public open house being held Feb. 27.

M.T. Fernandes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Flesherton Advance