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Pipeline Letters To MPs - See The Manufactured Crises

Posted by Dodge on March 12, 2006 - 2:29am

Sabrinus and I have prepared a post to start a new forum with the content of the infamous LETTER TO POLITICIANS that Mayor Noble sent to myriad politcos without the knowledge or consent of some members of SBP council. We think some members of Council knew in advance about the letters it would be impossible to keep it secret.

We feel it is imperative that ALL concerned citizens of SBP, be they year-rounders or cottagers, be aware of the contents of this letter. How dare Mayor Noble press his own personal agenda on to politicians under the guise of its having the blessing of SBP Council. Why push so hard?

We don't need it, we don't want it and the community has already paid dearly for this non entity.

We encourage the community to read this, talk about it amongst your friends and family members. Copy it from this page and email it to people you think care about the Mayor's actions. Take a real hard look at the contents of this letter. Take a real hard look at the pretense this letter was created and disseminated. Think about it come election time. Don't you think you deserve better than this?

Town of
SOUTH BRUCE PENINSULA

To MPP's:
Happy New Year to you! We trust that you had a wonderful holiday and are ready to once again tackle our provincial challenges head-on in the upcoming year.

We take this opportunity to alert you to the urgently-needed water and sewer project at Sauble Beach and Hepworth. These services will ensure the health of residents/visitors, generate millions of tax dollars from development and protect our beach and the environment. We encourage you to review the attached map and summary.

As well as MPP's, we have also sent this information to everyone who is running in the upcoming Federal Election. We will be publishing the names of those candidates who respond favourably, to help further their campaign efforts and support. Although there is not a provincial election at this time, we know that of the several 100,000 visitors we host each season, many of them are your voters too, who will be anxious to witness your support of this vital project, as are we.

We request that you reply to this letter by January 18 to let us know that you are in favour of supporting this water and sewer project. Please reply one of two ways: Email the Town of South Bruce Peninsula: tsbppublicworks@bmts.com or mail by Canada Post to: Town of South Bruce Peninsula, Box 310, 315 George St., Wiarton, Ontario, NoH 2T0.

We appreciate your support and look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Carl Noble
Mayor of the Town of South Bruce Peninsula

=== Page Two ===

Town of
SOUTH BRUCE PENINSULA

To MP's:
Happy New Year and congratulations on your decision to run for office in the upcoming Federal Election. Recently, all the candidates were sent a summary of the alarming conditions at Sauble Beach and Hepworth, where we desperately need water and sewer. (see attached map) These services are vital to help ensure the health of residents/visitors, generate millions of tax dollars from development and protect our beach and the environment.

Thanks to those of you who have already responded positively. With our community attracting several 100,000 people per season, most of you have voters that frequent this popular tourist destination on Lake Huron. Your position on this urgent matter is critical to them and us.

In an effort to support those that support us, we have decided to publicize the names of those candidates who reply in favour of our proposed water and sewer project. We feel that publishing your names will help spur on your campaign efforts.

We request that you reply to this letter by January 18 to let us know that you are in favour of supporting this water and sewer project. Please reply one of two ways: Email the Town of South Bruce Peninsula: tsbppublicworks@bmts.com or mail by Canada Post to: Town of South Bruce Peninsula, Box 310, 315 George St., Wiarton, Ontario, NoH 2T0.

If you did not receive the original summary with our 'cry for help', please call 519-534-1400 and we will reply immediately! We appreciate your support and look forward to your reply. Best of luck in the election.

Sincerely,

Carl Noble

=== Page Three ===

Note: Page Three is just a map showing where SBP is in Ontario.

=== Page Four ===

Mayor of The Town of South Bruce Peninsula
Sauble Beach: A Community in Crisis

Ontario's Playground is about to Explode

Sewer and Water for Hepworth and Sauble Beach

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The Town of South Bruce Peninsula is located in Bruce County, approximately 30 km north of Owen Sound. As you will see on the attached map, we have a large geographical area and three urban centres: Wiarton, Hepworth and Sauble Beach.
Currently only Wiarton has municipal services.

For over 20 years, our Town has requested Provincial and Federal assistance to provide sewer and water services to Hepworth and Sauble Beach to no avail. Enough is enough, no more excuses, we need results. The following pages outline the need and the urgency for this project.

By way of this letter we ask for your support of this important initiative. Please sign below as to whether you do or do not support assisting Hepworth and Sauble Beach in obtaining clean, safe municipal water and sewer services.

Sincerely,

Carl Noble, Mayor
Town of South Bruce Peninsula

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I give my support in the initiative to provide water and sewer services to Hepworth and Sauble Beach

Signature __________________________ Date_______________

I do not extend my support in the initiative to provide water and sewer services to Hepworth and Sauble Beach.

Signature__________________________ Date________________

=== Page Five ===

Sauble Beach and Area: A Community in Crisis Pleading for Help!

It is estimated that during the summer weeks, Sauble Beach has upward to 30,000 visitors. Long weekends and peak summer weeks can exceed 100,000 visitors, many of whom are your very own constituents! However, our spectacular 11 km of white sugar sand beach (voted by the Toronto Star as the "Number one Beach in Ontario" has only 3 public washroom facilities. Valuable homes ($300-$500k +) as well as cottages are at risk due to lack of water service for local fire departments. Neighbouring Hepworth has documented evidence that over 20% of their wells have had bad test results. Our community's need for health, safety and future development is contingent upon a water and sewer system. This area is a ticking time bomb!

Two comparable Ontario beaches (Wasaga Beach and Grand Bend) have received government funding for water and sewer in the 1970's and continue to thrive and prosper. Statistics Canada rates Wasaga Beach as "the fastest growing community in Ontario".
Seasonally, thousands also descend upon Grand Bend for sun, sand and relaxation. Yet Sauble Beach (voted in 2005 by McLean's Magazine as "#4 in the top 10 Beaches in Canada") who's most recent daily vehicle tally estimates 40,000+, still struggles without water and sewer.

We face many challenges until these services are funded and put in place:

1) Health at risk: Innocent people in neighbouring Hepworth have been.forced to leave their homes due to water related illness. Incompetent septic systems in Sauble Beach are putting citizens health at risk.

2) Tourism may be jeopardized: A looming beach closure due to contaminated lake waters is the kiss of death for Sauble Beach, known by some as "Canada's Caribbean".

3) Development is halted: 6 major housing projects, a 5-Star campground and golf course cannot proceed. All levels of government would benefit from an additional tax revenue of over $1 million annually!

4) Seniors are suffering: Due to a lack of seniors housing, those who cannot remain in their homes due to health or financial reasons are forced to leave their friends, church and the area.

5) Discrimination is felt: Millions have been allocated for a water System on neighbouring Saugeen First Nations Reserve with further funds for expansion to the edge of our community, yet we've been told our project is to big for COMRIF. Working in unison with our neighbours will save significant dollars. In order to eliminate feelings of discrimination, we request you seriously consider our application for water and sewer in conjunction with the approval granted for Saugeen First Nations People.

6) Money will be wasted: Our proposed medical clinic will need a septic and well. Much money could be saved by not having to install these services by having water and sewer in place.

7) Our expenses continue to climb: Having had our finances in place for 3 years, we're concerned that given financial climate, we'll be forced to borrow money at a higher rate. Coupled with the rising cost of contract engineers, equipment rental and gasoline, the investment for this desperately-needed project continues to climb.

In 2002. our community participated in a strategic planning process. Committees included:

Tourism, Seniors, Youth, Small Business & Agriculture. Every committee identified water and sewer as our most-needed improvement. A 900-name petition in favour of these services further validates this need. The benefits of funding these services are many: a) residents and tourists' health would be ensured, b) our 'blue f1ag designation would not be threatened, c) Ontario will gain significant tax revenue, d) The Town of South Bruce Peninsula will gain significant tax revenue, e) pressure will be relieved from our overwhelmed natural resource seniors will remain in the area to be vital contributing citizens, g) a cleaner, safer environment would be achieved.

The Solution: Pipe clean water from Wiarton, through Hepworth to Sauble Beach, treating the sewage in a newly constructed facility. The investment per 3 levels of government: $26 million.

=== Page Six ===

We would sincerely appreciate it if you arranged a meeting so we can receive some vital answers to this serious situation, allowing us to move forward with water and sewer in our communities of Sauble Beach and Hepworth. We must have these services to avoid another Walkerton tragedy. We sincerely request your support.

Town of
SOUTH BRUCE PENINSULA

‹ SBP Candidates Speak Paid Parking at Sauble? ›

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Real Democracy In Action

Submitted by bub on March 18, 2006 - 4:43pm.

Good job Dodge and Sabrinus at making sure this gets out, and keeps noble persons front and centre, and under scrutiny. And scrutiny is what I will do now.
While the total lack of democracy and proper etiquette comes as no surprise at all , it does come as a surprise that someone on council finally speaks up. Perhaps this can be a new beginning of the end to the old boys club? When council will listen to the citizens who resoundingly said NO to the pipeline?
But I digress, what I really want to do is to dissect some of what was written, I’ll quote some of what was sent by Mayor Noble and reply under it:
NOBLE:
“For over 20 years, our Town has requested Provincial and Federal assistance to provide sewer and water services to Hepworth and Sauble Beach to no avail.”

All I need to do is point to Doug Gammie’s post in this very blog, which can be read here . In the mid 90’s nowhere was the option to build a pipeline ever on the table, this is an outright fabrication, in my opinion.

NOBLE:
“…11 km of white sugar sand beach (voted by the Toronto Star as the "Number one Beach in Ontario" has only 3 public washroom facilities. Valuable homes ($300-$500k +) as well as cottages are at risk due to lack of water service for local fire departments. Neighbouring Hepworth has documented evidence that over 20% of their wells have had bad test results.”

It was indeed voted as number one beach, and also one of the top 10 in Canada by MacLeans magazine.What is interesting to remember that the beach was voted this way as it IS not as land speculators and private interest groups would have it. No towering hotels, no massive housing developments built on land owned by members of council, but as it is.(a very interesting and little known fact under the Ontario Municipal Act that any council member promoting a project that they would directly profit from, can be removed from office by a complaint by any taxpayer, and an investigation by the government with a ban of 7 years from being involved in politics again)
As for the 3 washroom facilites, this is a municipal responsibility, and brings to mind why was the original Information centre that had washrooms moved from the beach area a few years back?
Valuable homes…in just mentioning that word and using the monetary value shows that there is more to this than meets the eye. Every person’s home is valuable..regardless of monetary value. Lets call this what it really is, perhaps it should be stated with valuable homes on the lakeshore waiting for massive development.
The lack of water for fire service is totally wrong, the Sauble fire department does an incredible job, using existing small lakes, streams and pumpers . As do rural and small town departments everywhere.(remember during the 2003 August power failure large cities like Hamilton actually had no water for emergencies)
I don’t know where the 20% of Hepworth’s wells are contaminated comes from, there was only one recorded water poisoning in hepworth, and the details on that are sketchy at best. Any well system can be made completely safe with cheap existing water technology controlled by the homeowner.

NOBLE:
“Two comparable Ontario beaches (Wasaga Beach and Grand Bend)…”

Wasaga and Grand Bend with year round population of 12,000 as opposed to Sauble Beach’s year round 800??Comparable??Okay…..

NOBLE:
“Health at risk: Innocent people in neighbouring Hepworth have been.forced to leave their homes due to water related illness. Incompetent septic systems in Sauble Beach are putting citizens health at risk.”

Again, noone has been forced to leave homes in Hepworth, and there are very few incompetant septic systems as can be seen earlier..and if there is..easily fixed.What is hurting people is this constant threat of spending money to update or clean septic systems, just to be forced into paying a pipeline..if you are really concerned, Mayor Noble, stop threatening people with the pipeline.

NOBLE:
“Development is halted: 6 major housing projects, a 5-Star campground and golf course cannot proceed. All levels of government would benefit from an additional tax revenue of over $1 million annually!”

First..tell us who owns the property that you are referring to,,do you own any of this? Second, major housing projects is a euphensim for poorly planned, high density, high profitability, poorly built homes. Third, as for the golf course, even if we want or need it..you do NOT need muncipal water for this, technology exists for not only houses with small lots, but large buildings and yes even golf courses that use new filter tecchnology, that the waste water is actually used to water the golf courses! Say it aint so?? It is..in fact the Waterloo media is presently being used at Carsons Camp(according to waterloo’s website)
Now please tell us your definition of a 5 star campground,(plus who owns the property now) is it like Algonquin Park..pristine?? Or are you talking adding to existing campgrounds to the north that are cesspools when it rains ..and where crime occurs during the long weekends..or perhaps competition for Carsons?

NOBLE:
“Seniors are suffering: Due to a lack of seniors housing, those who cannot remain in their homes due to health or financial reasons are forced to leave their friends, church and the area.”

Okay..tell me what seniors are suffering due to a lack of senior housing..could this be a referral to the empty quarry on Silver Lake Road that you want to be Seniors Housing??Could you please inform us who owns this land? I would like to know…for the record. Now Let me also say that seniors are coming to Sauble Beach as it is NOW because of affordable housing and lots that already exist..not little cramped 30 foot lot or semis or condos that will have the name “senior” on it..doubt me? Ok have a look here please notice Sauble has the second fastest growing population in Canada..AS IT IS.

NOBLE:
“ “
I will leave item 5 blank, as I don’t think it worthy to republish, but to say that YOU are being discriminated against in favour of the Native population…well….

NOBLE:
“Money will be wasted: Our proposed medical clinic will need a septic and well. Much money could be saved by not having to install these services by having water and sewer in place.”

Let's see…a pipeline close to 100 million dollars with interest on top with operating and repair and upkeep and upgrades and usage fees..as opposed to perhaps 10,000 for a water system independent, with a lifetime of 40 plus years….hmm….

NOBLE:
“. A 900-name petition in favour of these services further validates this need.”

Okay..one response click here

NOBLE:
“our 'blue f1ag designation would not be threatened,”

Okay..another one click response..read here

One thing that you can be sure of, is that members of parliament can and do google any item, they can take the pulse of what is happening, and anytime you google the pipline, Teledyn is front and centre..that’s right you me and the rest of the ratepayers..thanks Gary, for letting us spout off. THIS is true democracy in action!

Crises Letters Author Was A Hired Gun

Submitted by Dodge on March 27, 2006 - 1:42pm.

I am trying to get confirmation but there is a story making the rounds that these political letters used by the Mayor were actually written by a local motivational speaker.

If correct then my speculation that staff prepared it is completely untrue. It means the Mayor has hired outside help and Council has a budget item for it. After all the $500 figure was a little high for just some photocopying.

Council passed a motion more than 2 years ago that all pipeline issues must be dealt with in open meetings where minutes are taken. This was to prevent secret meetings and out of public view lobbying and secret financial arrangements outside of community view.

You will recall that Powerbudd actually billed the Town of South Bruce Peninsula for preparing profiles on the election candidates in 2003. Then a letter comes to each address on the voters list saying vote for these candidates they will work hard for you and so on. There was no connection, right? The strategy failed to put a unified council in place and you can bet lessons learned will be applied in 2006.

There is more here in the crises letters than could be passed off as a simple request to write a page or two. I think we all have now received a preview of some local up coming election strategy. The material will be changed a bit to hand out door to door of course but Mayor Noble wants a clear pipeline mandate and he will have to manufacture it. Or in this case sell it to the people. He has had 5 1/2 years now to sell it. I have seen the results so far. Manufacturing a crisis where none exists is a strategy which usually fails. Please continue.

So where are the minutes for the meeting that arranged for the writing of these letters? What were the instructions and guidelines? Who attended?

Where SBP's money goes

Submitted by bub on March 28, 2006 - 1:03am.

Its nice to know that the taxpayers of S.B.P. helped pay, indirectly through payments to Buddinsky, for his defence fund on sex charges with 3 minors.Its also nice to see that taxpayers money are also going to someone who claims to be a motivational speaker...by the way..so am I and I will have the web site up soon..oh wait..I need some property on lakeshore that I have a direct benefit of for when the pipeline goes through..thats right.I forgot..the old boys network is still in place..till election time..
Noble sure knows how to pick his friends..

Property Owners Win Second EA

Submitted by garym on August 4, 2006 - 9:32pm.

Some pretty fancy math by our lord Mayor, but also a pretty strong assertion that, environmental assessment or not, it's a done deal so deal with it. Still, there's a bit about the math that bugs me, and it's not the cost per person should this spell socio-economic-environmental guffaw in the endgame, but just this:

He says every evrionmental assessment adds 30 to 150 thousand dollars to the overall project.
Noble says this translates into an additional 5 to 7 hundred dollars for each water user.
...
The project was last estimated to cost 70 million dollars.
[ via Bayshore Broadcasting Corporation ]

So like, where's the long division that also underlines the per-capita share of the $70M, and then the per-servicedsite share of value said pipe might (underline 'might') bring?

I'm just curious. You know, in the name of keeping our facts and figures straight. Anyone know?

garym: ict evangelist - musician - whatever

Second EA Not A Given

Submitted by Dodge on August 7, 2006 - 2:00am.

That news item Gary refers to is an example of unbalanced community reporting.

The news item appeared Aug. 1 after a Town of South Bruce Peninsula Council meeting the night before.

There were 3 bump up requests submitted to Council for the addendum to the Water and Sewer EA to extend it another 5 years and firm up the plan to locate the sewage treatment plant behind the D line. One was from the Amabel Property Owners, one from the Sauble Anglers and Hunters and one from a private individual. Bayshore could have easily phoned the CAO for this information before running the clip.

At Council Mayor Noble conspired to have only the Amabel Property Owners item pulled for discussion. Then Noble, Wunderlich and surprisingly, Yvonne Harron all commented on the APOA adding costs. There was more information than this to the story and arrangements were made to phone in comment the next day with the Bayshore reporter.

On Tuesday Councillor Pat Varley phoned Bayshore with the rest of the story saying "The Amabel Property Owner’s are NOT the only organization requesting a bump-up or Part 11 order re addendum No 2 ESR for Water and Sewage Works Study for the Town of South Bruce Peninsula. They are however interested in making sure the Town has its i’s dotted and it’s t’s crossed to protect their members.

They are following an established process which has been put in place to protect the taxpayer. A process, which if followed correctly, has no consequence. There have been several letters in the past from senior officials from other levels of Government explaining that there is NO funding available for this project."

Bayshore did not use Councillor Varley's input. Later on Aug 4 the station was asked if their reporting was biased. The reply was that it wasn't and they would take a statement from Pat Varley in the future. However with this particular item the full story wasn't told.

Mayor Noble wanted to slam the Property Owners and blame any future costs on them. He has a choice. He can stop the money flow right now. Further spending and citing the Amabel Property Owners as the reason for it seems a rather weak strategy.

Bayshore has a staff of news writers. They cover a large listener area and usually do a credible job. In this case they reported the Mayor's comment only. The option is clearly open to take a more balanced approach in the future.

As for Noble's comment here is the math. There are less than 4000 proposed hookups. Every $100,000 spent works out to $25 per conection not the number he tossed to out.

This addendum was clearly slanted towards getting a sewage treatment plant built rather than protecting the Sauble River. The Sauble River cannot take more phosphorus. If anything it should be reduced. Yet the town proposed` dumping treated wastewater directly into the river. No wastewater treatment plant in Ontario has ever routinely achieved low phosphorus levels proposed by the Town for the Sauble River The whole proposed design had assumptions that may not have been workable in an actual plant.

Flowrates over the Sauble Falls are less than 1 cubic meter per second on some late summer days. That volume is already draining the Sauble watershed and late summer nutrient loads were not sampled. An outlet pipe direct to the Sauble River for treated wastewater to replace thousands of widely dispersed septic systems was the recommended way to go. That adds anywhere from 4000 average to a larger rated capacity of more than 10,000 cubic meters of treated wastewater per day to the Sauble River. This wastewater will be warmed in lagoons in he summer monhs.

All this is part of a project that Mayor Noble has been trying to find funding for during his term. This news item cast doubt on the actions of a 700 member Property Owners group who, along with the Anglers and Hunters asked the Ministry of the Environment some hard questions about the whole process of how the Town chooses the best infrastructure. The Environmental Assessment Act is quite clear. Bump up requests are part of the process and just about every EA done in Ontario has these requests.

Mayor Noble is in a tough election race and his record on this issue is not helpful. During his term this administration has lost probably over a million dollars in opportunity costs on 2 failed COMRIF funding applications and further direct spending on futile attempts to put some expensive infrastructure in place in this Town.
Many times during his term the Mayor has referred to developers waiting in the wings for this project to go ahead. Many people who reside in the area have questioned the need for such a project.

Pat Varley has always stood with the people and has taken fire for it during this term. Pat is electable and we need more elected on the next Council who will also stand with the people.