As published in The Erin Advocate
The Town of Erin has released a payment to its Servicing and Settlement Master Plan (SSMP) consultant that it had previously held back.
Payment of the $34,943 invoice from BM Ross earlier this year was approved by council on November 26. It was withheld last May after it was found that some aspects of the study had not been completed according to the Terms of Reference.
“BM Ross is now committed to complete the SSMP and all the requirements,” said Finance Director Sharon Marshall, saying release of the payment would demonstrate “good faith”.
Council had already approved projected costs for next year – an additional $54,000 for BM Ross to deal with new river data from Credit Valley Conservation, to host and attend a series of meetings to discuss the growth allowed by the Assimilative Capacity Study, and to re-write the final draft of the SSMP report.
Marshall reported that the total Town costs for the SSMP since 2006, including a projection of $118,000 for 2014, is now $542,594. That includes BM Ross, Triton Engineering (Project Manager Dale Murray), hydrogeology by Ray Blackport, economic analysis by Watson Associates and Town expenses for legal advice, advertising and public meetings.
That figure does not include CVC expenditures on the SSMP over the years, estimated last spring at $380,000. So the current estimate of public expenditures on the SSMP (including the 2014 projections, but not including recent work by CVC) is $922,594.
