Review-Mirror

Rideau Lakes private lane associations who applied for a 2016 grant for lane maintenance will be getting a standard sub- sidy of $303 per km. The grants are subject to budget approval and cheques will be issued after the passing of the 2016 budget. At last week's Munici- pal Services meeting councilors agreed to raise the amount of the per kilo- meter grant from $297 in 2015 to $303, a number council agreed to adjust for inflation This year will be the tenth year of the program which assists property owners which undertake collective maintenance as an association. The intent of the grant is to assist property own- ers with the costs of grad- ing, gravelling, ditching and brush-cutting. The improvements can improve access for emer- gency vehicles and safer access for owners. The 2016 grants will benefit 86 private road associations for a total of 144 km of road. This year's payout comes to a total of $43,632, within the bud- geted amount of $45,000 for the program. In the last five years the number of participating organizations has increased from 75 in 2012 to the 86 who applied and were successful in meet- ing the criteria this year. The Review-Mirror March 31, 2016 – 16 18 Concession Street Westport W.E.T.T. Certified ( ) 613 273-4402 Toll Free 1-888-743-3288 www.rvhh.com Professional . . SALES SERVICE INSTALLATION since 1982 Professional . . SALES SERVICE INSTALLATION since 1982 In Celebration of our 22 nd Anniversary we are offering... 22 % OFF Installation Labour Many thanks to all of our loyal customers and friends for an amazing 22 years and beyond! since 1994 Private road grants to be increased What a difference a few hours makes. Jeremy Barr took these two photos of West- port Pond the day after last week's ice storm. The Town of Gananoque is urging the government to revisit the Sustainable Water and Sewage Systems Act to assist small communities in meeting the legislative requirements. The act requires water and wastewater systems to be self-funding, a require- ment which has proven to be a challenge to the Town of Gananoque's 5200 resi- dents. A five-year forecast of user rates has moved rates of $23.92/m in 2002 to $107.35/m by 2020. "We went to get the advocacy going in smaller municipalities which are in the same fix. We want to get an audience with the minister and premiere. At the very least we would like them to relax the self funding requirement," said Gananoque Councillor Ann Warren who penned the letter with the Town's CAO. Other issues the letter raises is the initiation of formal based funding for water systems with 10,000 users or less, a reinstate- ment of the Ontario Small Waterworks Assistance Program (OSWAP) and interest-free loans to small municipalities to cover large debentures for infra- structure renewal. "The way the govern- ment works is they tend to come up with legislation which is addressed to the larger communities," said Warren. "I think that there are lots of avenues they could take to revisit the legisla- tion and make it fairer," she said. Westport customers currently pay $140 per month and scenarios for future rates are being worked on, to be unveiled at a future public meeting. With around 285 cus- tomers, Westport water and sewer deficits – $708,000 in the disaster that was 2014, an estimat- ed $83,000 for 2015 and a budgeted loss of at least $181,920 for 2016 – mean new rates will have to increase considerably. The village's rates were under $20 for over 20 years, jumped to $46 in the early 1990s and stayed there until a five-year increase took it to $140 by 2013. •Continued from page 1 recreational anglers aren't the ones cormorants are eating. "Ninety-nine per cent of fish cormorants eat are invasive," said White who notes that cormorants are a sign of a healthy fishery. "A bird has to get the energy back it spent fish- ing with interest, because it has to feed its young," said Barry MacKay, who along with White has attended culling of the birds in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. "They resolve a crisis which doesn't exist. It dates back to when we didn't understand how things work," said White of the culls. She cited a lack of suc- cess which Ontario Parks had with culling as popu- lations crept back up after the exercise which cost time, money and the suf- fering of birds which were left to die after being wounded in the exercise. "We'd agree that they are part of the eco-sys- tem," said White who noted that historically in the 19th century they were abundant until persecution of the birds saw their pop- ulations decimated. The declines from the 19th century, combined, with the effects of DDT on the success of the hatching of chicks have made the size of the current popula- tions to be a surprise. The township will decide or not decide to take a stand on the cor- morant issue after gather- ing more information from the Ministry of Natural Resources who will be asked to make a delegation to council. The Big Rideau Lake Association has taken a stand against actions to limit the population of the birds. Cormorants diet dominated by invasive species: White Westport ratepayers facing potentially huge jump Municipality 'self-funding' rules relaxed for water and sewer systems

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