The terms of reference for a new joint water committee between Collingwood and New Tecumseth has garnered initial approval by both councils this week during their respective committee of the whole meetings.
“Staff feel that the current draft is reasonable and will meet the needs of each municipality,” said the town’s public works director Peggy Slama during her presentation to Collingwood councillors on July 10.
As part of the water supply agreement signed between the two municipalities in September 2022, a new joint water committee was to be struck. Terms of reference for the new committee must be signed by both municipalities by August under the agreement.
The joint water committee will be responsible to review planning for future expansions, discuss maintenance and capital budgets, supply rates, resolve disputes, develop communications between municipalities and address any other water distribution matters.
While the committee will make recommendations on changes, final decisions remain with the municipal councils.
Under the proposed terms, each town will appoint three staff representatives which will include a chair, a financial management representative and a technical/operational representative. An administrative support person may also assist the chair in preparing minutes and agendas.
Meetings will be held at least twice annually and ad hoc meetings may be called for any pressing or emergency matters.
The terms of reference can be updated as required, but must be reviewed at least every five years.
“What’s established now, over the next couple of years, we will probably need to make some adjustments as we go,” said Deputy Mayor Tim Fryer during Monday’s meeting, asking if the meetings themselves would be considered public.
“Would council be able to attend? Especially over the next couple of years with everything going on, there’s going to be great discussion about this in this body,” said Fryer.
Chief administrative officer Sonya Skinner said meetings would be considered operational, but that minutes and any decisions would be communicated to council.
“If a councillor of member of the public wanted to see the discussion happen, I don’t think that’s prohibited, but typically we wouldn’t be broadcasting them,” she said.
Both town councils passed resolutions to approve a new Collingwood-New Tecumseth water agreement at their council meetings on Aug. 18, 2022, bringing to an end a two-year negotiation between the municipalities.
The agreement will be in effect for 10 years with an option to extend every 10 years once signed.
As part of the deal, Collingwood will receive a $6.5 million payment from New Tecumseth to buy back their interest in the pipeline outside of Collingwood town limits.
New Tecumseth will also pay $71 million of the costs for the expansion of the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant based on the proportion of Collingwood’s water capacity that gets sent to Alliston. The total estimated cost for the water plant expansion was last reported by the town in 2022 at $120.9 million, with Collingwood's share at 37 per cent of that ($44 million).
Collingwood has been providing 6,000 cubic metres of water per day to New Tecumseth since 2008, which won’t change under the agreement until the new water treatment plant comes online and capacity is expanded.
Collingwood has been sending water to New Tecumseth for 22 years.
In the late 1990s, the Town of New Tecumseth approached Collingwood to ask for help with water supply to support a Honda production plant in Alliston. A pipeline from Collingwood to Alliston was required and was built along the rail line that ran between the two municipalities.
An agreement was reached in June 1999 that saw Collingwood sending treated drinking water to New Tecumseth. That agreement expired in 2020, and the following year both municipalities paid for Hemson Consulting to update the supply rate model.
While both councils voted unanimously in favour of adopting the terms of reference, the decisions will need to be ratified at both councils’ next regular meetings before going into effect.
