By Mark Schadenberg
INGERSOLL – It's rather hard to
believe that up until 2013 a significant area in Ingersoll lacked
municipal sewer services.
A neighbourhood which included
Wellington (south), Kirwin, Royland, Elm, Cedar and Pine streets did
not have a town-installed waste sewer system.
These services were installed about two
years ago, but the residents did not receive a bill immediately,
which I also do not understand as someone (town and County of Oxford)
would have paid the contractor when the bill arrived, and would have been closely defined in the town's annual budget also.
A full two years later – property
owners in that geographical area are now receiving their billing
options. Home owners can pay the entire amount assessed to their
particular house or pay off the bill over a five-year or 10-year
amortization. Naturally, if you pay any bill over time, interest is
added.
The project's final cost amounted to
approximately $1.2 million.
As I said in the opening paragraph, I'm
rather surprised that this section inside Ingersoll town boundaries -- featuring homes in the range of 40 years old -- lacked services this long. What if someone needed a septic system
replacement around 2010? Would they have went ahead with that
installation? If they did, now they have a 5-year-old septic system
and a new sewer connection to pay for as well.
Keep in mind, Ingersoll is not Embro,
Thamesford, Innerkip or Mt Elgin – four Oxford communities which in
recent years received such service installation for the first time
ever.
Meanwhile, in a related story . . .
Also, brand new streets such as
Woodhatch, Kerr, Kendell, Moffat and Chatfield – all had full
services as the homes were constructed, so the developer was
recouping such sewer costs as homes were built.
Exiting off 175 Ingersoll
Street is a 41-unit condo development by Warren Sinclair Homes (MLS
75720: Feel free to call me anytime for more details on these
MLS-listed new construction townhouses), which was requested (required) to go
the extra distance (mile) and manage its storm water run off through
a specialized landscaping design. The Upper Thames River Conservation
Authority (UTRCA) and even Ingersoll high school (IDCI) students all
contributed efforts.
“The
goal of LID (low impact development) is to reduce the rate and amount
of water running off a property,” said Teresa Hollingsworth,
community and corporate services coordinator with UTRCA last year in
the Ingersoll Times. “Less water goes into watercourses from storm
sewers, helping to minimize flooding and stream bank erosion and
reducing the impact on water quality.”
When the final analysis is observed, I
again find it interesting to note how overdue the sewer service was
to this particular neighbourhood by and near Wellington South in Ingersoll,
and why it took almost three years for the bill to arrive in the
mail.
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