Emo residents facing fee hikes

Emo residents now have to dig a little deeper for their utilities, council there decided last Thursday.
The regular council meeting was preceded by a special public one in which council revealed its new fee structure for water, sewer, and garbage rates.
Emo residents will see an increase of $15 per month, starting with their next bill.
Residents currently are paying $30/month for water service, $10/month for sewer, and $5/month for garbage pick-up. Each of those rates will increase by $5/month, bringing the bi-monthly tab to $120 from its current $90.
Emo Coun. Geoff Pearce, who chaired the meeting as deputy reeve, said the hike was necessary in order to meet the “full cost recovery” objectives of the township.
Coun. Pearce said the additional revenue generated will be used to pay off the cost of the water treatment facility upgrades as well as build up a reserve fund for future contingencies.
In addition, some of the money will go into the maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery.
This may not be the last increase, however.
“I think it’s reasonable to expect the cost of garbage pickup to go up—if not every year, then every second year,” Coun. Pearce warned.
He also noted the province is imposing more restrictions on the kinds of waste that can be disposed in landfills and, eventually, there may be a prohibition on all recyclable material.
That, in turn, will require municipalities to find other means of dealing with such things as glass and cardboard.
Only three residents—George Wegman, Helen Tompkins, and Ted Kaemingh—attended the public meeting and none of them registered any complaints regarding the new rates.
The bylaw authorizing the new rates was passed at the regular council meeting later.
Also at last Thursday’s regular meeting, council passed a zoning bylaw amendment enabling a property fronting on Highway 602 in the village of Emo to be rezoned from institutional to residential for the purpose of permitting a single-residence dwelling to be built on the property.
Included in the bylaw was a provision for concerned citizens to appeal the decision within 20 days, starting July 9.
Public Works superintendent Dan Wilson presented a report to council regarding the status of various ongoing projects. He said the crushing and stockpiling of road gravel is now complete and that there currently are more than 12,000 cubic yards available for immediate use.
Wilson also noted the township’s roads appear to have come through the winter in good shape, compared to a year ago. A drier autumn, a slightly milder winter, and abundant snowfall contributed to less frost penetration than was the case last year.
He also said work on storm sewers in need of repair is more than half complete.
Coun. Pearce then invited Wilson to join other department heads to participate in a seminar, at the request of the Township of Ignace, to discuss the operations of municipal departments, with a view to adopting some of the procedures that are in use in Emo.
The delegation from Ignace is scheduled to be in Emo on July 14. Wilson agreed to participate.
In other business, council:
•passed a resolution authorizing the monthly levy for July to the Northwestern Health Unit in the amount of $4,887.50;
•approved a request from the Rainy River Agricultural Society to post signs at the two major entrances to Emo advertising its annual fall fair, scheduled for Aug. 19-21;
•agreed to set aside an additional $1,000 for the roads budget in order to maintain the air ambulance helipad;
•passed a resolution authorizing the July payment to the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board in the amount of $17,055.42;
•supported a request from the Town of Tecumseh requesting assistance from the provincial government in providing municipalities with water service infrastructure in rural areas; and
•agreed to send Clerk Brenda Cooke to a four-day seminar in Fort Frances (Sept. 27-30).
The next regular meeting of Emo council won’t be until Aug. 26 to accommodate summer vacation plans. There will, however, be a special meeting July 29, at which time sealed tenders on municipal properties being sold will be opened.
Both meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. at the municipal office in Emo.