City council has given an independent engineering company full reign to look into the massive flooding that affected thousands of residents in May.
The majority of council voted in favour of having an independent engineering study conducted by Hatch Mott MacDonald to look into the cause of the massive May 28 flooding. The study will also look into the flooding at the Atlantic Avenue sewage treatment plant. Council approved an upset limit cost of more than $300,000 for the study.
The study, which will take a year to complete, will also look at ways to reduce the risk of future flooding from happening.
The city’s engineering manager Pat Mauro said they will start with a pilot project to assist residents facing drainage issues and the study will be split into two phases. The first phase will have an engineer look at an affected area with 10 to 20 homes in it.
Recommendations from that phase will shape the second, he said.
‘We will need some wet weather data,” Mauro said. “We will be monitoring flows through storm sewers over a period of five or six months in order to calibrate our models in order to do the analysis.”
Mauro will also be working with Ecosuperior in order to develop and administer an ongoing a residential drainage assistance subsidy program.
Council also decided to extend their agreement with the province to use Little Norway Road. The agreement allows the city to lease the use of the road, which runs on provincially owned land, to Horizon Wind Inc. so that the company can look at developing a wind farm.
The lease agreement between the company and the city started in 2011 for the purpose of Horizon constructing and operating a wind farm on the Nor’Wester Mountain range. The agreement has a term of 25 years but Horizon has until 2014 to build at least one wind turbine or the city can terminate the lease.
Mayor Keith Hobbs voiced his opposition against the agreement and said the city didn’t set up that arrangement with the province just so Horizon could use the road.
“I thought the agreement we went into with the provincial government was specifically for Thunder Bay Telephone to access that area,” Hobbs said. “We shouldn’t be going into an extension if Horizon wants the extension. They can ask the province for it. Why would we do it for them? They just sued us for $126 million.”
In other business, council approved a 40-metre Bell Mobility telecommunication antenna along Highway 61 near the Valley View Motel. Council didn’t discuss the matter and instead dealt with the issue in closed session.
Any costs with the development of the antenna will be covered by Bell.
Council will resume on Aug. 13 as the next Monday will be a holiday.
