SOUTH HURON — The municipality is hoping to hear by the beginning of March the results of the hearing held Jan. 18-19 concerning appeals over the Exeter Diversion Drain project.
A three-person tribunal oversaw the hearing at Exeter's town hall. As previously reported, the proposed $1.5 million project was appealed by the owners of the property the project is slated to run through. The tribunal was held to act as a mediator between the municipality and the appealing property owners.
The drain, planned to prevent flooding in the eastern part of town, will involve a combination of a municipal storm sewer and an open ditch from Huron Street north to the Ausable River. The project is designed to handle a 100-year storm event and will provide relief for a 96-acre catchment area.
January’s tribunal gave the opportunity for the appellants and the municipality to present arguments.
South Huron has received a Building Canada Fund grant of $462,550 each from the province and Ottawa for the project, which must be completed by March 2011 to remain eligible for the funding. There was initial hope the project would be completed in 2009, but the appeals put the project on hold.
Construction of the project should take about a month.
South Huron clerk Michael Di Lullo told the Times-Advocate recently he expects a decision on the hearing by early March.