Paradise to shuffle longstanding W&S priority list
By Mark Squibb
Paradise is reshuffling its longstanding water and sewer priority list.
After the Town was allocated $5.3 million from the Province over the next four years for capital works, staff presented council with a list of 23 projects for consideration and asked it to rank them according to priority.
Among them were the town hall and depot renovations, St. Thomas Line forcemain upgrades, culvert replacements, new roundabouts on Kenmount Road, a new walking trail on Karwood Drive, and more.
The list also contained all remaining projects on the Town’s water and sewer priority list, including Dakota Place (2 houses), Topsail Pond Road to Topsail Pond River (24 houses), Harcourt Road (3 houses), Gosse’s Road (1 house), and sewer for Milton Road (5 houses).
Council discussed the project list at great length, but the discussion soon grew into a debate on the longstanding priory list, established in the mid-90’s.
Councillor Glen Carew said he wanted to prioritize water and sewer projects for funding, especially as the Town could complete the whole list during this round of funding.
“We could finish all of the streets – Dakota, Gosse’s, and Harcourt, Topsail Pond Road – for a total cost of about just over $2 million,” said Carew.
Councillor Jennifer Hiscock echoed Carew’s sentiments, adding she didn’t want to see the projects “pushed to the bottom of the list.”
Councillor Erin Furlong said while water and sewer projects are a priority, upgrades to Picco Drive – the project which staff had put at the top of the priority list to address longstanding safety issues – was also a priority.
“Those residents in that area feel like they have not been prioritized,” said Furlong. “And I feel like that needs to be taken into consideration.”
Councillor Tommy Maher favoured prioritizing upgrades to Picco Drive and bumping Harcourt higher on the water and sewer list.
It was Furlong who broached the idea of shuffling the priority list and tackling smaller projects ahead of larger ones.
“Everybody wants their water and sewer, I understand that, and I know that many people have been waiting longer than others, and that all should be taken into consideration,” said Furlong. “They all want water and sewer, they all deserve the water and sewer, and we can get more of them done if we don’t necessarily look at the list in priority versus how many we can do.”
“So, basically, you’re saying change the water and sewer priority list,” asked Mayor Patrick Martin, who expressed his opposition to that idea several times during the discussion.
“I’m saying, do it based on the money,” said Furlong. “Everybody wants it, everybody deserves it, and I don’t want to be the person that says someone on Harcourt deserves it more than someone on Dakota… So, if we have a certain amount to spend, and we’re saying that water and sewer is our priority, shouldn’t we just look at it and see how many of these we can get done?
Maritn later quipped the water and sewer list was akin to the sanctity of the Bible and ought to be left as is.
“We’ve been following this for years, and if we’re going to change the list now, we’ve got to have a reason,” said the mayor.
“I don’t know how the list came to be, and while sometimes, doing something forever in a certain way is great, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s always that way,” said Furlong, who asked if staff reassess the list on a regular basis.
CAO Lisa Niblock confirmed the list gets reassessed.
Furlong suggested moving Topsail Pond Road – which would cost some $3.6 million – to the bottom of the list and instead completing some smaller projects, especially as some residents there have said they would prefer to remain on their own water systems.
Both Mayor Martin and Deputy Mayor Kimberley Street voted to keep the list as is.
Carew, Maher, Furlong, and Hiscock voted in favour of a motion to bring forward a new priority list at a future meeting.
Councillor Sheldon Antle was not present for the meeting.