By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
The Town of Essex’s grant application to expand the Harrow Raw Sewage Pumping Station has been denied.
Members of Essex Council received correspondence from the Provincial Ministry of Infrastructure outlining the result during its December 15 meeting.
This would have allowed for upgrades to the Town’s pumping station, increasing pumping capacity from 75-litres per second to 120-litres per second in accordance with an Engineering Study that was completed that would have helped resolve flooding issues and support future growth, Director of Infrastructure, Kevin Girard, explained.
The Town submitted the application through the Province’s Health and Safety Water Stream (HSWS) under the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program (MHIP).
The funding model would have granted 75% of the costing for the project through the grant stream, with the remainder from the Town.
Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley put forward a resolution, which Council unanimously supported, to follow-up with the Ministry of Infrastructure, to not only thank its reps for their time and consideration for the Town’s grant application, but to also inquire if there are any other items, additional details, or further information related to the application or project that would assist in the successful award of grant funding in the future.
The Town will also send a copy of the letter to Essex MPP Anthony Leardi, and will add this matter to the agenda for its next scheduled meeting with him.
The letter from the Ministry noted Essex was unsuccessful in garnering the grant following a thorough, evidence-based provincial review process. It adds that the MHIP-HSWS intake was highly competitive, and demand for resources far exceeded available funding.
“Projects selected for funding were those that most closely aligned with provincial assessment criteria, including the criticality of health and safety risks addressed, technical merit of the proposed project, project readiness, financial need, housing units maintained, use of modern technologies, and efficiencies through joint projects,” the letter outlines.
Councillor Rodney Hammond pointed out the Town was denied the grant after some recent criticism about not applying for the Provincial Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF) to facilitate growth.
“This is one of the ones we really went after, because Harrow needs it. Let’s face it. Our lagoon system is outdated and not sufficient for our Town,” Hammond said. “This was a big step forward. I am really disappointed this fund was underfunded.”
Director Girard said Town staffers are still assessing what the next steps will be, and are looking at alternatives. The pump station needs to be upgraded and will come at a significant cost to ratepayers. Staff are assessing the financial requirements and how the Town could potentially fund the project and the timing.
He suspects more details will come in the New Year.
