Schreiber Facing Increasing Rates for Water Services

The second meeting of the Schreiber council in February 2022 contained many items on the agenda:

• It started with fire chief Jan Morrison distributing reports to the council and mayor regarding upcoming changes to the fire department regulations in the province of Ontario, specifically regarding training and training centres. The Schreiber fire department recently hosted a multi day training course under the supervision of the Regional Fire School and has been working towards compliance with the new sections of the updated regulations. A further issue was mentioned regarding recruitment with the lack of available people willing to become involved in the fire department.
• The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted and carried.
• Council remuneration report was accepted
• Recreation department schedule of upcoming events was agreed on
• No accounts payable at this time of the month.

Committee of the Whole and department reports

• Director of Operations submitted a status update that included information about baggage handling at the sewer plant. It would appear that most equipment is obsolete and other equipment is in various state of disrepair. The collection of waste using bags is being phased out as other options are being proposed.
• Water treatment plant is also showing signs of failure and age as new regulations are forcing municipalities to upgrade older systems.
• Preventative service agreement has been proposed to prevent future component failure in the municipal heating system. Earlier this year the heating system failed in the south east wing of the building. This presents a potential hazard during the winter months.
• Community economic report highlighted the submission of a grant to fund paving at the gazebo area at the beach and provide an engineering study to connect the beach to the lookout.
• Mainstreet revitalization was also discussed.
• Senior Programmer report mentions the funding available for buying new chairs for the senior centre. Various programs have restarted with the lifting of some restrictions on gathering and numbers. 
• Winter carnival event was emaciated and no events occurred due to lack of interest.
• Heritage days is still being planned.
• OCWA report was a grim reminder of just how bad our water and sewage services has become with system failures and deterioration of infrastructure. 

No questions again for question period.

Communications

Under communications there was some very bad news. FEDNOR has declined funding for the upgrades to the waste water plant electrical systems. Age and corrosion are leading to system failures and a potential health and safety issue could be on the horizon. UV treatment will need to implemented as well to comply with the new generation of waste water regulations. These two components alone would cost well over 2 million dollars and that excludes any work on the actual lines coming into the plant. It is estimated that the additional cost to households might be as high as 42%. That is a massive hike to the already high rates residents already pay. As grants become unavailable there will additional burdens placed on smaller municipalities. Without proper repairs there is also a risk of insurance increases if systems are not aligned with standards. Schreiber had already implemented a 10% increase in water rates so this further news will not be well received. 
NOSH has requested correspondence regarding the availability of rapid test kits. 

Other Business

Salaries for councillors was discussed but no actual numbers were presented.
A draft was submitted for the updated snow removal bylaws.
The NORDS program funding would cover small programs dealing with infrastructure updates and might provide the funds needed for sidewalk repairs in the next season.