Hastings growth requires expanded wastewater plant
Municipality starts lengthy environmental assessment process for addition
Hastings needs a larger wastewater treatment facility to handle projected population growth, the municipality of Trent Hills says.
The municipality announced last week that it is starting the process for an environmental assessment on the proposed expansion of the facility, which is located at 134 Cedar St.
The Hastings facility is currently operating at 72 per cent of capacity and needs an expansion that could include upgrading existing processes and introduction of new treatment methods, the notice said.
The municipality said the expanded plant will be built within the property boundaries of the existing site. The assessment will include public, Indigenous and external agency consultation, the notice says.
Two public information meetings will be held before the assessment is completed.
If you are interested in receiving notices or commenting on the process you can contact Tanya Redden, Manager of Capital Works and Asset Management, 705.653.1900 x252 tanya.redden@trenthills.ca.
At the council meeting on Feb. 25, the annual report for the facility said it met all treatment requirements, except in March 2024 when equipment problems led to the release of water into the Trent River with high E. coli levels.
In December I wrote a story about water and wastewater expenses. The total cost for water services to be paid by users for 2025 is $2,265,610, up $168,768, or 8 per cent from $2,096,842 in 2024. The users’ cost for wastewater services in 2025 is $2,927,849, up $243,124, or 9 per cent from $2,684,725.
In recent years the municipality has needed to rebuild and replace aging water and sewer systems, especially in Hastings. The municipality now has annual debt payments for those improvements of $906,952 that represent 15 per cent of the water budget and 26 per cent of the wastewater budget.
In December the planning department said there is enough sewer and water system capacity for the Sunny Life apartments and homes planned for Church Avenue.
A study of the overall situation is to be carried out this year. The large Camelot Village subdivision that’s just getting started on the northwest edge of town and the adjacent hoped-for hospital development will certainly require substantial services over the next decade or two.
Signs of the times
The story that I wrote last week about the town’s plan to introduce a bylaw controlling signs and merchandise that retailers put on the sidewalk led to lots of discussion and comments.
At an event on the weekend, I was chatting with a councillor about the plan and asked if he had discussed the idea with any retailers. I noted that the ones I had heard from said they couldn’t afford $5 million in liability insurance.
The councillor said he hadn’t talked to the businesses, but the licensing and insurance requirements would be good from the municipality’s point of view since they would reduce its liability for any injuries that pedestrians might suffer.
Retailers, shoppers, and ratepayers will have a chance to comment when the issue goes to the Community Development Advisory Committee on March 26. See you there.
Audits will cost $50,000
This comes under the heading of letting you know where your tax dollars go.
One item passed at the Feb. 25 council meeting was appointing the accounting firm of Baker Tilly KDN LLP of Peterborough to carry out audits of spending by the municipality and the library board.
Baker Tilley said the cost for the services would be $48,125 plus HST. The accountants noted that they won’t be focused on the nickels and dimes, but will use a benchmark of $820,000, up from $780,000 in 2023, to identify major issues.
In accounting speak, this is called materiality. Here’s how Baker Tilly explained the term:
“Materiality is the term used to describe the significance of financial statement information to decision makers. An item of information, or an aggregate of items, is material if it is probable that its omission or misstatement would influence or change a decision. Materiality is a matter of professional judgment in the particular circumstances.”
The report to council from staff recommending Baker Tilly said:
“This fee includes an Independent Auditor's Report, preparation of Financial Statements, preparation of the Financial Information Return (FIR), audit of the Trust Funds, Trent Hills Library Board and Campbellford BIA. The Municipality, Library Board and BIA include amounts in their annual budget for audit services.”
The approval of Baker Tilly for the job was approved without discussion, comments, or questions.
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When the amalgamation of Hastings into Trent Hills all utilities were to stand alone. Now that they are united it would appear that Campbellford utility dollars are being spent in the up grading of the Hastings plant and services. Perhaps their rates should reflect a higher amount to pay for these services. But