DAN CEARNS The Standard
SCUGOG/KAWARTHA: The Lake Scugog Enhancement Project has seen more complications, leading to further delays.
At a special council meeting on Thursday, September 5th, councillors saw a report from Dan Rosebrugh, Manager of Capital Projects which recommended the contracts for berm construction and dredging and wetland construction not be awarded. The report also recommended township staff “report to Council when significant progress occurs with the agreements required for permitting and access to construct the berm, wetland and bridge in Lake Scugog.” The Lake Scugog Enhancement project includes dredging a portion of Port Perry Bay and creating a berm and a wetland. The goals of the project are to improve the recreational use and water quality of Lake Scugog and to create a healthy wetland habitat. The Township has to come to an agreement with a Curt Street landowner as part of the permitting process.
“The permits and agreements to allow this project to proceed are not secured. [The] Timing for securing an agreement with the landowner of the vacant land is unknown. Parks Canada’s head office is facing fires in Jasper, Alberta and has not been able to respond to their local staff with direction on the agreement requirements. The terms of the agreement remain unknown to the Township and to the landowner. The landowner is requesting exemptions to regulated setbacks which Kawartha Conservation cannot provide. Splitting the project into multiple phases and tenders has resulted in significantly lower estimated construction costs compared to tendering the project as a whole in 2023. The project now has an estimated funding gap of $1.2 million, with some costs not currently identified. Our current resources are not sufficient to fully cover the costs at this time and the funding gap will increase if any available funding is lost,” the report explained.
With the project having been on the books for a number of years now, Ward 1 Councillor David LeRoy suggested council start to look at other options for the project.
“In my view we have a car we keep trying to fix, instead of acknowledging we need a new car,” he said. “I don’t like the motion as proposed, and I don’t like the proposal as proposed. I’d like to propose an alternative motion to investigate alternative works.”
Ward 3 Councillor Robert Rock seconded the motion.
“It was my understanding [in] going back to staff, part of that would be re-imagining other options, so I believe this fits perfectly, and I agree entirely with what Councillor LeRoy is bringing forward,” he explained. However, Rob Messervey from the Scugog Lake Stewards felt going back to the drawing board now would be “redundant.”
“We went through an environmental assessment process. We looked at quite a few options. We whittled those down to six options, which seemed to have some merit,” he said. “This project has been, over the years, reworked and reworked to ensure it is multi-faceted.”
Mr. Rosebrugh said if the project is overly re-imagined, it will turn into a new project and will bring the Township right back to the start of the process.
“There may be implications with the funding partners for a different scope and a completely new project,” he added.
After going into a closed session, Councillor LeRoy decided to withdraw his motion and the original report’s recommendations were approved.
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