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Hamilton Spectator
15-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Township taxpayers still on the hook for some ice-storm costs
While taxpayers in Springwater and Oro-Medonte townships will have to pony up more of their hard-earned cash to help cover the costs of March's devastating ice storm, the majority of the costs are expected to be covered by the Municipal Ice Storm Assistance (MISA) program. MISA replaces the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance (MDRA) program, which will not be activated for the ice storm, according to a report prepared for Springwater council by Greg Bedard, the township's interim deputy chief administrative officer. 'The Municipal Ice Storm Assistance (MISA) program provides one-time support to eligible municipalities for incremental costs related to the ice storm that began on March 28, 2025,' Bedard wrote in his report to council, which was delivered at the township's July 2 meeting. 'There is no cost threshold to qualify for this program.' According to Bedard's report, the township incurred $493,000 in additional costs by June 13 and expects it may add another $130,000 in future costs for a total of $623,000. The single largest cost was for goods and services — costs for external service providers contracted to undertake work directly related to the ice storm, and the rental of specialized equipment used by township staff to assist with debris cleanup — which came in at $318,000. Bedard's report noted that if the township incurs eligible costs totalling $623,000, the province would contribute about $490,000 in MISA funding. The remaining $133,000 would be funded by the township. In Oro-Medonte, the numbers are significantly higher. According to a report presented to Oro-Medonte council on April 29, chief administrative officer Shawn Binns said the township incurred costs of almost $6.5 million due to the ice storm. He downgraded that to about $6 million on Monday. 'The township's April 29, 2025 report provided an overview of the expenditures,' Binns said in an email to BarrieToday. 'The breakdown of costs has not changed materially from what was previously reported although actuals are slightly lower at an approximate cost of $6 million versus the approximately $6.5 million previously reported. 'With support from the province, the net impact to the township would be approximately $457,000,' he added. According to Binns' April 29 report, operations, which included mutual aid, contracted services, rentals and equipment, cost the township $5.65 million. Oro-Medonte council will discuss its MISA application during Wednesday's meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. To qualify for the MISA program, a municipality must: Applications will be reviewed by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and are subject to final funding approval by the minister. If approved, the province and municipality will enter into a transfer payment agreement, of which all payments under the agreement will be based on eligible costs incurred. For eligible costs up to three per cent of the municipality's own-purpose taxation, the province will reimburse 75 per cent, and for eligible costs above three per cent of the municipality's own-purpose taxation, the province will reimburse 95 per cent. 'The township has based ice-storm response and recovery decision making on the assumption the township will be fully responsible for all costs associated with the ice storm,' Bedard's report noted. 'Provincial assistance has not been seen as a guarantee, given the previous cost threshold under the MDRA program, as well as the need to substantially document eligible expenses for the province's review. 'Should the township's MISA application be approved by the minister, this will positively impact the financial implications associated with the township's response to the ice storm,' Bedard added. In addition to MISA, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing also launched the Business Ice Storm Assistance Program (BISA) that provides one-time support to certain small businesses, small farms, and not-for-profit organizations that incurred damage resulting from the late March/early April 2025 ice storm. The BISA program is application based with a deadline to apply by Oct. 31, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
14-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Technical challenges' causing project delays on Finlay Mill Rd.
When it was announced at a public information session in January 2024, the installation of five kilometres of force main from the Midhurst Heights development to the wastewater treatment plant on Snow Valley Road was scheduled to take 35 weeks. 'A year at the outside,' officials added then, providing themselves a small cushion in case of complications. Almost 70 weeks later, the job isn't finished and Finlay Mill Road, just north of Barrie, remains a one-way thoroughfare, causing traffic delays and congestion throughout the community. Contrary to community speculation, the delay has little to do with the 'financial difficulties' of the company that was hired to do the installation, Earth Boring Company Ltd. 'The Township of Springwater became aware of Earth Boring Co. Limited's financial difficulties in April 2025, which was a matter of public record,' Trevor Harvey, the township's director of public works, told BarrieToday in an email. 'The implications associated with these difficulties do not affect the township directly as there are no contractual arrangements between the township and the contractor. 'The agreements are strictly with the developer,' he added. According to information presented at the public information session, the developer, Rose Corporation, was footing the bill for the force-main installation with no contributions coming from municipal tax dollars. According to a posting on BDO Canada's website, on April 17, 2025, 'Earth Boring Co. Ltd., Yarbridge Holdings Inc., Trolan Investments Ltd., and Yarfield Services Ltd. (collectively 'Earth Boring' or the 'Debtors') sought and obtained an initial order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (commercial list) pursuant to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.' Harvey explained that the delay has been caused by what's in the ground along the planned path of the force main. 'The issues contributing to the delays are related to technical challenges,' he said. 'Specifically, the construction process is facing difficulties due to the presence of cobbles and boulders in the planned path for drilling, which complicates the construction methods. 'Additionally, there are pending approvals needed from the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO), which extends the progress of the timeline,' Harvey added. He said the combination of these factors is what is causing the project delays. Harvey said the township has requested an updated schedule and he expects one will be provided next week. 'We understand that delays in construction can be frustrating for residents,' he said. 'The project is designed to bring significant long-term benefits and improvements to the community.' Originally designed to be completed in stages, stage one — Finlay Mill Road between Wattie Road and Doran Road — was supposed to take 12 weeks. Stage two targeted Doran Road between Finlay Mill Road and Gill Road and was scheduled to be completed in six weeks. Stage three was scheduled for 17 weeks and was to cover Finlay Mill Road between County Road 27 and Wattie Road. Harvey said the township will keep the community informed about the progress of the project by providing regular updates through its official social-media channels and website.
Hamilton Spectator
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Disrespectful and stupid': BSOM candidates condemn sign vandalism
On election day, an X is supposed to be used to endorse a candidate. This week, it was used to negate one. Sometime Sunday night or Monday morning, a number of signs belonging to Rose Zacharias, the Liberal candidate for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medont, were spray-painted with a large blue X across both sides. Oro-Medonte Coun. John Bard sent BarrieToday an email advising that multiple Liberal signs on Bass Lake Sideroad had been spray painted with blue Xs. 'Very discouraging,' he said. Allan Baker, an Oro-Medonte resident who lives near the hamlet of Jarratt, said someone drove to his property Sunday night after dark, around 9 p.m., and stopped at the end of his laneway. He thought it was someone dropping something off in his mailbox. When Baker went to check a half-hour later, he noticed the Zacharias sign on his property was damaged, a large blue X spray-painted on both sides. He called the actions 'disrespectful and stupid.' Baker said another Zacharias sign down the street was also vandalized. 'It's unfortunate that some sought to resort to such tactics in the final days of the campaign, but neither myself nor my team were intimidated,' Zacharias said in a text to BarrieToday on Thursday night. 'We stayed focused, respectful and positive to the very end.' Orillia OPP confirmed one call was made to report the vandalism and advised that if a suspect was found, they could be charged with mischief. Doug Shipley, the Conservative candidate who won another term in the Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte riding on Monday night, said he was disappointed but not surprised to hear about the vandalism. 'It takes a tremendous amount of money, time and effort to do campaign signs and I have never been involved in a campaign, municipal or federal, where my signs weren't damaged, stolen, moved or vandalized,' he said. A veteran of six elections going back 15 years, the former Barrie city councillor said the vandalism casts a shadow over the candidates as the public assumes it was one of the other campaigns that caused the damage. 'I would say 99.9 per cent of the time, it's not someone involved with another candidate's campaign — it's kids or vandals,' he said. 'People who are involved in campaigns know how much money they cost and, I think overall, they respect that.' Shipley said he talks to the other candidates about signs at the outset of a campaign. 'I called Rose at the start of this campaign and told her, 'stuff is going to happen to your campaign signs, stuff will happen with my campaign signs and you have my word, anything that happens to your campaign signs is not done by me or anybody associated with our campaign,'' he said. Despite being a ubiquitous part of any election campaign, Shipley said he could live without lawn signs. He said they're expensive, they cause a lot of litter, they're not great for the environment and he's not sure they make that much of an impact when it comes to swaying a potential voter. 'Honestly, if someone passed a bylaw and said no more campaign signs, I think most campaigns would be happy with it because they're just a lot of work, a lot of money and I don't know how much they really do,' he said. Shipley and 28 campaign volunteers spent Tuesday driving all over Barrie, Springwater and Oro-Medonte removing election signs. While Springwater Mayor Jennifer Coughlin wouldn't go as far as Shipley does in recommending a complete ban on election lawn signs, she would support getting election signs off public property. 'Private property only,' she said. 'If you want to put up a sign, go and get the property owner's permission.' In addition to ensuring every sign is authorized by property owners it would also save the township money and staff time. After the 2022 municipal election, Coughlin said, bylaw enforcement spent numerous hours driving the entirety of the township's 536 kilometres of roads, removing 290 election signs in the process. However, it might not solve the vandalism problem. The sign that was defaced on Baker's property was at the end of his laneway 'Sign wars are symptomatic of the most current and one of the most divisive components of society — politics,' he said. 'The bar for political ethics and behaviour in North America seems to have reached a new low. 'Sadly, very little respect for anyone,' he added. Springwater Deputy Mayor George Cabral agreed. He said there used to be a time when we looked after each other, respected each other, respected property that was not ours and obeyed the rule of law. 'There's been a huge negative swing this last decade in the handing out of moral compasses, integrity, civic responsibility and respecting the communities where we live,' he said in an email to BarrieToday. 'Then, of course, there is the root cause of vandalism, including that of election signs, and it is the progressive lack of respect for people and property, coupled with this sense in some individuals that they need not worry any longer about being held accountable for their actions,' Cabral added. 'And this attitude is unfortunately becoming ever more prevalent being driven in this new world of intense social media world where bad behaviour can and often does get applauded.'
