LAURIE WEIR

The Township of Rideau Lakes has agreed to purchase the final piece of property in a contamination zone near the Portland Landfill site for nearly $870,000.

This is the fourth and final piece of property in the Contamination Attenuation Zone (CAZ) around the Portland Landfill site. Several years ago, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) identified groundwater contamination affecting several properties around the Portland Landfill. The ministry directed the township to create a CAZ by acquiring these lands. The township needed to purchase four properties: the first was bought in 2021, two more in 2022, and the final property at 4428 Old Kingston Road is to be purchased by Oct. 1, 2026, as stipulated in By-Law #2024-06.

MECP confirmed the contamination, leading the township to provide bottled water and install water treatment systems in the home. The Ministry ordered the township to stop waste disposal at the site, address the groundwater impacts, and purchase the affected properties to comply with regulations.

During a regular meeting of council on Tuesday, Aug. 6, a bylaw was signed to enter into an agreement with the homeowners to purchase the property. The township is looking to fund the purchase price (plus extras like legal fees and moving expenses) totalling $977,495, by financing a loan. The closing date is Sept. 20.

Cindy Laprade, the township’s treasurer, sought approval from council to seek the funds through Infrastructure Ontario for $943,000 over five years at 3.96 per cent interest.

Leprade noted in the report that “the amount of $34,495 was prepaid as requested. It was paid in 2024 but it was accrued to 2023. This purchase was not budgeted in 2024 as the earlier sale date was not anticipated and therefore there is no funding for the $943,000.”

Funding possibilities include using the money from reserves or reducing other expenses.

Laprade did not recommend using reserve funding as they are already doing that to finance operations. A reduction in other expenses was also not recommended as most capital projects are underway, and there are no savings available.

“We would apply for funding immediately from Infrastructure Ontario … however we may not have sufficient time to secure this funding by the required date. If that occurs, we will have to draw funds from the line of credit. Note that our line of credit is only $4 million and on Sept. 30 we have to send the county and school boards one-quarter of the taxes collected on their behalf, or approximately $3.5 million,” she stated.

“Additionally, we have not finalized the loans for the new fire station or the new hall/library, so we will also be using the line of credit until these loans are finalized. Recommendations for financing for new facilities will be presented to council in August.”

The township provided a water treatment system for the home and bottled water reimbursement. The system was around $12,000 to install, and annual maintenance and testing is about $5,000 to $6,000 a year. The township spends about $100,000 a year on engineering services on the five landfills (Portland, Delta, Elgin, Westport/North Crosby, and Harts Gravel Road).

Mayor Arie Hoogenboom noted that they had another year before they needed to purchase this property, but because the owners found a new property, they had to move on the transaction sooner than expected.

“We’re not going to have the money in hand by the time we need to close this deal,” the mayor said. “We will be taking money out of the reserves or line of credit to pay this until we get the infrastructure loan through.”

This was not “unanticipated,” he said. “It was only unanticipated that it would happen this year. We thought it would probably be next year, but the property owners found another place to live … we have to close the deal in a certain amount of time.”

One of the things council will need to consider after the transaction has been completed, is what to do with the building.

“What do we do with any of the contents that are left behind? We may have to dispose of some of those (like fixtures), and there is the possibility that this house could be moved,” the mayor said. “One of the options could be to RFP the house” … and move it to another location to recoup some of the money.