Communication key element to Falmouth flooding issue

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

West Hants Municipal Council passed a motion last Tuesday vowing to work directly with citizens to try and solve rising water level problems in Falmouth.

Councillor Shirley Pineo brought the motion forward suggesting a committee be struck with concerned citizens, councillors and public works staff to see if there’s a simple solution to the complex issure. “It’s time for us to sit down and see if the public has any suggestions,” she said.

The issue was brought to council’s attention last month when over a dozen residents pleaded their case and asked council to take responsibility for the flooding issues in Falmouth. Since then, no action has been taken and Public Works director Rick Sherrard said he was awaiting direction from council.

The matter had also been left with the municipality’s solicitor. However, Pineo said the only thing the solicitor could do was look at the issue of liability, but was not there to make specific recommendations. In the end the issue came down to money.

“I'm sure we could solve the problem right now if we had a few million,” Pineo said. Council is looking at at least $1 million just to have an engineer assess the situation, which could affect tax rates throughout the municipality.

“We all know there’s a problem, but I'm not sure if it’s the municipality’s responsibility and if we look at a master storm water plan, we'd have to apply it everywhere. Are we going to ask residents in other areas to pay for fixing the problem in Falmouth?” Pineo said.

Matter of dollars and cents: Dauphinee

Municipal Warden Richard Dauphinee agreed a committee would be a good idea, but said it still comes down to dollars and cents. “We need to make a decision on whether or not we hire an engineer to study this and, if so, should we involve residents because if it is a matter of a million dollars, then they need to be informed how that could affect their area tax rate.”

Pineo said there may be an easier solution. “I don't know if the public understands what we have to grapple with in terms of cost and regulations. Maybe there’s a cheap solution, but we need to talk to the people involved and have them help us solve this problem. There must be some way we can work together on this.”

She said the solution may be as simple as having some landowners agree to dig ditches in their area to improve water flow.

Area councillor Ann Cochran agreed, saying, “it has to be fixed somehow.”

Councillor Randy Matheson suggested talking with the seniors who have lived in the area the longest. “They know the lay of the land; they've seen the changes over the years and probably know as much about the problem as anyone.”

It all comes back to the people in Falmouth, Dauphinee said, and whether they’re willing to pay for it. “This is where discussion and communication is so important,” he said.

The committee formed will include three councillors, three residents from the affected area and public works staff. Pineo suggested Victor Swinamer, who had made the original presentation to council, choose which residents would be most appropriate to include.

However, all meetings will remain open to the public. Swinamer was present at the council meeting and stated he'd like to see all affected residents at the meetings to at least hear discussions first-hand.