by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative
Council asked to help mitigate flooding issues on Masaccio Drive
Tina Kirincic and Andrew Kirincic approached Council regarding flooding issues on Masaccio Drive.
They said they were approaching Council on behalf of their community regarding persistent flooding.
“The alarming intermingling of stormwater with sanitary water is particularly a distress, resulting in severe consequences for our beloved community,” Tina said, noting the most recent incident transpired during the several weather events experienced on August 24 and 25.
Despite enduring repeat flooding incidents, Tina said they are being told they are one-in-one-hundred-year storms. She claimed they have experienced five such storms since 2008.
“The financial and emotional toll on our community has reached an unacceptable level, necessitating an urgent and lasting solution to this ongoing problem,” Tina said.
In an initial letter sent to Council, it was proposed to add a stormwater retaining pond at the end of their street, with the intention that it would alleviate stress on a local creek. She was told the petition was not valid as it would need to be signed by at least 2/3 of the owners representing at least one-half of the value of the lots liable to be charged for the work.
“Despite having 22 homeowners in favour of the proposal, the remaining 27 properties – though not built – are being considered in the evaluation,” Tina said.
She asked Council to reconsider their proposal.
She also asked for clarity regarding the existence of a pond, south of the currently eight-undeveloped lots parallel to the creek. She wanted to know if that is a creek widening or intended to address their flooding issue.
Tina also proposed a moratorium on new building in their area to allow their street and surrounding community to have the flooding issues resolved.
Because of its location, Amherstburg is responsible for sanitary, while Essex is responsible for stormwater.
“Attempts to seek assistance from both areas have proven challenging, leaving us in a state of uncertainty,” she said, adding it is realized there is an investigation regarding the pipelines.
Director of Infrastructure Services, Kevin Girard, said it sounds like they are having a combination of issues between stormwater and sanitary. He said there are measures that can be taken on private property, such as installing backwater valves.
Phase one and two of this subdivision were approved in the early 2000s, under former stormwater management guidelines, but were still designed to release and store up to the one-in-one-hundred-year event.
The Town does monitor its systems and maintains them. He said Town staff could look at the phase one stormwater management plan and look to see what types of improvements could be made, however, trying to tie a stormwater management plan from phase one into phase 2 would be difficult.
Lori Chadwick, Director of Development Services, noted phase two of the development could start at any time. The stormwater management design was just approved, triggering an amendment to the development agreement that needs a minor change before it comes back to Council. That could take a few weeks.
She said everything is in place, and the lots have been registered.
Girard added water will drain into a stormwater management pond, which is located behind the lots and adjacent to Sucker Creek. That pond will store a one-in-one-hundred-year storm, plus the stress test. It will also pump the water into Sucker Creek by pump station.
Councillor Kim Verbeek expressed concern about pumping water to Sucker Creek when it already gets full. Essex needs to take a step further and ensure it is dredged all the way.
She is glad the issue will be looked into further, as there are a lot of pieces to this puzzle.
She made the motion that Essex’s CAO and Mayor have discussion with neighbouring communities and ERCA regarding needed improvement to River Canard as a major watershed to help mitigate the issue.
In addition, Council passed Councillor Katie McGuire Blais’s motion to direct administration to create a report on stormwater management reviewing phase one of Masaccio Drive internally to see if any improvements can be made.
From there, Council could later decide if they want to dedicate funds to assess the system further or the watershed.
Additional Funds for Heat Exchangers passed
Council approved the additional funding of $1,139.15, above the approved 2023 Capital Budget of $64,770, for the Heat Exchangers for Essex Recreation Complex, totaling $65,909.15. This will be funded through the operating repair and maintenance budget for the Essex Recreation Complex.
The Report to Council notes the final project total after completion exceeds the approved 2023 Capital Budget.
All capital projects at the Essex Recreation Complex are split between the Town of Essex and the Greater Essex County District School Board. The heat exchangers there deteriorated to a point that full replacement was required.
The Plant Department from the Essex County District School Board obtained quotes for the design, supply, and installation of the heat exchangers. The price did not include the tax in the final amount.
Community Safety Zone to be implemented on Jackson Street
Council directed Administration to implement a Community Safety Zone on Jackson Street, from County Road 50 heading south to Sullivan Street.
By-law No. 915 was amended to reflect that.
Director of Infrastructure, Kevin Girard, noted when Jackson Street parking concerns were discussed this past summer, it was identified that it may be a candidate for a Community Safety Zone, and staff was directed to look into it.
Since this section of Jackson Street is located directly adjacent to Colchester Park, it meets the eligibility criteria for a Community Safety Zone, the Report to Council notes.
The cost to install Community Safety Zone signs will come from the Public Works operating budget.
Councillor Jason Mayti believes this is a great idea and he is looking forward to seeing how it affects parking in the area. Hopefully it will help mitigate speeding complaints.
Council updated on 2022 IT Strategic Plan
results implementation
Council received a report from Jack Barron, Manager of Information Technology, that highlighted progress of implementing recommendations detailed in the 2022 Information Technology (IT) Strategic Plan.
The Report to Council notes the Town posted a Request for Proposal to develop an IT Strategic Plan for the Town of Essex in 2022. Perry Group performed an in-depth evaluation of all IT services within the Town of Essex, with findings presented to Council during a Special Meeting on June 20, 2022.
“We’ve used the report as a guideline on technologies that we can implement and ways we can improve service to the municipality,” Barron told Council, noting staff keeps working to improve security and are using the report’s recommendations to move forward.
Last year, the Information Technology Department obtained a $50,000 Municipal Modernization Grant to help implement some of the recommendations in the Strategic Plan.
To date, an Information Technology Governance Committee has been created to review IT projects and inform Directors of new and upcoming technologies, staff implemented ConnectWise a cloud-based IT Help Desk\ IT Service Management solution, network vulnerability testing and monitoring has been conducted, and a disaster recovery solution that backups and replicates the Towns network infrastructure offsite to a third-party cloud solution has been implemented.
Moving forward, the IT Department will utilize the recommendations from the Strategic
Plan as a roadmap on new technologies and services offered by the IT Department, Barron details in the Report to Council. The IT Department will focus on improving cyber security posture, continuing to migrate solutions to the cloud, and developing a Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan.
Notices of Motion for January 15 meeting
• Councillor Brad Allard put forward a Notice of Motion that Council consider directing Administration to prepare a report and provide a recommendation on installing a deer crossing sign at the wooded area on the 3rd Concession near the Arner Townline.
• Councillor Jason Mayti will ask Council to consider asking Administration to provide a report on the process for when a fence is requested to be constructed adjacent to a Town-owned property, including costs associated and who is responsible for those costs.