By now most local residents will have heard or read the Echo story and can now answer May's mystery handbills after an explosive session of council debates over the fees being paid to environmental legal eagles, a firm so active, high-profile and famous, GoogleNews returns zero hits on them ;) --- Power Budd LLP, best known for their role in restructuring of Ontario's electricity industry and the development of our competitive wholesale and retail electricity markets. Council is retaining PB to lobby, or seek, or whatever all it is they do in trying to dig up the $65M in funding that's needed for Carl Noble's pet pipeline project:

A meeting Monday night (Feb. 9) saw council vote 5-4 to retain the services of Power Budd for another $165,000 in its quest to find federal and provincial funding, much to the dismay of about 30 people who were at council to protest against the pipeline. The town has already paid $203,000.

Put in perspective, just judging from the material I was given by the ecological waste-water technology consultants, that lobbiests fee is, let's see ... roughly the cost, including tax, of thirty small Living Machines units, each capable of washing the effluence of at least two homes or half a dozen average beach businesses. So, effectively, I could have cleaned the water of every main-strip beach biz with that fee --- I wonder what PB LLB bought ...

Anyway, back at council, Carl Noble was quoted saying he's "tired of people sitting back sniping... without coming in to get the information," ... but then he's also quoted admitting his figures are 'preliminary'. Public Works' Bill Jones added that "a lot of questions [Jim Porter] had asked could be answered"; having given up asking these sorts of questions since about when Amabel ceased having self-government, I can't say if his offer includes why there's been zero formal consideration for the cheaper, less-risky and more robust decentralized membrane filtration and alternative bio-mechanical treatment methods that could be rolled out incrementally, one unit at a time, deployed as needed and as funds appear ...

In the end, the contract with PB was renewed and the Capital Hill parties will roll on --- and Jim's questions must have been answered because he otherwise would have tipped the decision; voting against renewing the contract with Power Budd were Harron, Gilbert, Varley and Fulford.

[ Source: Wiarton Echo, Wiarton, ON ]