Changes to service agreement leaves town council uneasy

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

Lack of information surrounding the inevitable final amendments to a 20-year service agreement caused uncertainty among Strathmore town council members unwilling to sign a blank cheque.
As a result, council chose to postpone the issue – water ownership – until a Committee of the Whole meeting, which took place on Wednesday, Sept. 13.
The Town of Strathmore entered into 20-year service agreement with Epcor Water Services Inc. on June 21, 2000. The contract is set to conclude at the end of June 2020, so town administration recommended council approve signing the amended and restated agreement with Epcor – a renegotiation that occurs roughly every five years.
Yet with no provided information on the extent of the changes, council members were reluctant to fork over their signatures.
“I appreciate that it doesn’t matter, the contract is there. But if we kept this away for a week that would be my position,” said Councillor Bob Sobol, who was backed by his council members. “That way I know I’m going to get some figures… and at least I know what I’m signing; at this point I don’t.”
Administration informed council since the town is already involved in the agreement, there is very little wiggle room to negotiate but that detailed information could be provided.
Councillor Pat Fule questioned the appropriate length of a service agreement for the future, to which director of infrastructure and developmental services, Mark Ruault, stated it to be a complex discussion that will be brought back to the chambers after the Oct. 16 election introduces a new council.
Echoing Councillor Sobol’s concerns, fellow Councillor Steve Grajczyk requested administration also provide information in comparison to other municipalities.
“When we signed this horrendous $8.2 million plus contract for water and sewer, I always felt, ‘what do I have to compare it to?’ I don’t know if it’s good, bad or ugly,” said Grajczyk. “I had nowhere to compare it to, and I don’t think that’s fair to us or the taxpayer. Maybe I’m asking the impossible, I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem right.”
In response, James Thackray, the town’s chief administrative officer, said the challenge facing municipalities these days is the complexity of running a tertiary sewer treatment and the shortage of Class 4 operators necessary – adding to a convoluted system as the smaller lagoon systems are disappearing across Canada.
While council understood the struggle, they were apprehensive of an urgent larger issue on the horizon.
“I would just suggest that it is a huge problem, but owning water is the first problem,” said Councillor Denise Peterson. “Ownership of water is a greater problem and control of that ownership. That’s a whole thing that can’t be ignored. In the scope and sequence of what you’re speaking to, and as the pond shrinks, the animals look at each other differently, and yes we have lots of work to do.”
With the absence of Councillor Brad Walls and Mayor Michael Ell, council was unanimous in their decision to postpone the matter until the Sept. 13 Committee of the Whole meeting.