By Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
It appears that communication isn’t flowing properly between the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission and C-K’s executive management team.
As part of a presentation to C-K council on the municipality’s future water needs, it was pointed out that better information sharing is needed between the two groups.
According to Municipal VU Consulting president Jim Harnum, the organizational relationship between the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) was “inhibiting co-ordinated decision-making.”
“The existing master plan does not adequately address C-K’s current and future needs, as stated by the senior staff at C-K,” the report said. “It lacks a comprehensive framework for integrating financial constraints, growth demands, and infrastructure lifecycle management. Additionally, the plan does not sufficiently explore several alternative servicing options, missing opportunities to optimize costs, operational efficiency, and construction staging to minimize service disruptions.”
The presentation also included a report by C-K chief financial officer Gord Quinton. One of the recommendations from Quinton is to create a special group project in the engineering division called Facilitating Linear Opportunities Within Chatham-Kent (FLOW-CK) to fast-track and develop water and waste water projects.
“Chatham-Kent’s municipal administration and the Public Utilities Commission have often operated independently and lacked a unified strategy for planning and delivering services like land use, engineering, and infrastructure investment,” Quinton’s report stated. “This separation has resulted in inefficiencies, missed collaboration opportunities, and inconsistent communication. The future growth of Chatham-Kent and the financial realities require a unified plan moving forward.”
According to Quinton’s report, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent is in the process of updating its official plan to guide development and infrastructure investment over the next 25 years. The official plan update will help to ensure the municipality can accommodate both residential and employment growth.
An important focus of the study is ensuring Chatham-Kent remains competitive in the Highway 401 business corridor by strengthening its supply of strategically located employment areas.
Be the first to comment