Summerside’s new council tries its hand at solving old, contentious issue
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SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Metropolis councillors in Summerside are as soon as once more taking a shot at resolving the contentious problem of ditch infilling.
Summerside Mayor Dan Kutcher needs to place the topic to relaxation and is transferring to ascertain an advert hoc committee tasked with making that occur.
Kutcher made the announcement on the Feb. 7 council assembly. He stated the committee’s official appointment will occur Feb. 21.
Deputy Mayor Cory Snow and Coun. Justin Doiron would be the solely two members of the committee.
They’ve been tasked with consulting the varied stakeholders on the problem, together with all different councillors, and growing three coverage choices for consideration.
A deadline of Could 2 has been set for these suggestions to be introduced ahead. The general public will then have a few weeks to offer enter. Council will make a closing resolution at its Could 15 assembly.
Ditch infilling is a matter that stems from guarantees made after the previous City of Summerside was amalgamated with the previous communities of Wilmot, St. Eleanors and a part of Sherbrooke in 1995.
There was a “handshake settlement,” of which there aren’t any official information, between the mayors on the time. They agreed the smaller communities would obtain the identical stage of service because the previous city, together with having their open ditches stuffed and changed with piped stormwater techniques.
The problem has turn into a political soccer, largely between councillors who symbolize the previous smaller communities, who principally have open ditches, and people from the previous city, who don’t. The previous nonetheless obtain strain from constituents who need their ditches stuffed, whereas among the latter argue the price of the mission has turn into prohibitive and the cash could possibly be higher spent elsewhere.
The most recent estimates from town put the price of filling all of the ditches left on the precedence record at roughly $34 million.
Colin MacLean is a reporter with the SaltWire Community in Prince Edward Island. He may be reached by electronic mail at [email protected] and adopted on Twitter @JournalPMacLean.
