Highline Hall within the Wellington Arena was packed Monday night as the Wellington Community Association held a meeting continuing to express concerns about Prince Edward County’s expansion plans on water infrastructure and if it would lead to development.
Residents from Wellington as well as other areas of the county filled the hall to watch presentations and ask questions about the water infrastructure expansion plans.
Chair of the Wellington Community Association (WCA), Joanna Green, led the meeting.
Councillor Corey Engelsdorfer gave an update on road work and work on the Millennium Trail as part of the water and sewer trunk construction project in Wellington and took questions from residents about what to expect with the work.
Residents are worried their water/sewer rates will soar if developers don’t follow through on plans to build housing projects in Wellington.
The county has said the builders will pay most of the cost of the waterworks expansion through development and hookup charges upfront.
The county has installed a new water tower and is building a new water trunk main in Wellington with overall plans calling for a regional water treatment plant in Wellington and a trunk main carrying the water to serve residents in Picton.
The cost has been estimated at around $55 million.
Jennifer Armstrong of the WCA said, “If any of these assumptions fail, the entire project will collapse leaving the ratepayers burdened under the costs.”
“This process has been frustrating. While there has been consultation, the plans seemed predetermined and many important conversations are being overlooked. I voiced my concerns at council meetings but it feels like no one is listening.”
The meeting wrapped up with keynote speaker, Andrew Biggart, speaking about his experiences dealing with the county when looking into the issue.
He called what he was seeing “astonishingly reckless” and said that since making a request for more information from the county about the expansion plans in January, he had only received two copies of agreements that the county had entered into with developers. He says the two agreements “provide no security that this municipality is going to get paid back.”
The WCA encouraged residents to appear at the county’s next council meeting scheduled for August 27 to express their concerns about the water infrastructure expansion plans.
