Councillor Steven Baker during Brighton Council’s regular meeting, held at the Brighton Community Centre, on May 15, 2017. (Photo: David Foot / Quinte News)
Some Brighton residents and councillors are visibly upset by the town’s response to recent flooding along the Lake Ontario shoreline.
The main issue is that homeowners, some of them who are elderly and struggling with the workload, have been placing sandbags and maintaining municipal pumps on their flooded properties.
Councillor Steven Baker has been a vocal critic of the flood relief effort, especially in the Gosport area and got emotional while asking council to give more support to citizens, before storming out of the meeting.
Brighton’s CAO says he feels for residents affected by flooding, but there’s only so much the municipality can do in this situation.
Bill Watson is appealing to volunteers to help out, since the town has limited staff to handle the large area that’s been affected, as Lake Ontario keeps rising.
He adds that municipal staff, firefighters especially, have to be available to handle other emergencies, so tough decisions will be made as far as which homes get help first.
Mayor Mark Walas tells Quinte News, despite the negative reaction to the initial handling of the situation, he’s pleased a solution is coming together.
Staff will be assessing the worst-affected areas and an update on the plan going forward is expected sometime Tuesday morning.
Sandbags and supplies will also still be available for affected homeowners to continue to protect their own properties.
