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Province won’t aid Mono with ice storm clean up costs

April 13, 2016   ·   0 Comments

Mono Council received an ice storm update during their meeting Tuesday night.

New CAO Mark Early started the discussion by stating that Mono was not able to gain funding under disaster relief.

He said representatives of the Province toured the town last week to assess the damage and advised that before Mono or any other town would be eligible for funding the minister would need to declare the area as a disaster. This was not done, hence Mono is on its own financially as crews clean up post-storm.

Council learned that although there was much work done with plows and chain saws, there are still many branches on the ground. Most citizens have cleaned their yards themselves, while others are waiting for help with their yard waste. The main issue currently is getting branches down to a proper size so  GFL can pick up the brush.

Mayor Laura Ryan wondered “what would the cost be to open the land fill to have debris dropped off? Neighbouring municipalities are doing this. Some residents have had a prohibitive $13,000 clean-up bill.”

Public Works Director Michael Dunmore stated that “not all citizens will be able to utilize the landfill as they have no access to chainsaws and trailers.” Deputy Mayor Ken McGhee suggested that the landfill should be opened on Saturdays. Mr. Dunmore will announce the opening once he is able to confirm availability of staff. If staff are available, then the landfill on Mono’s Third Line EHS, closed when Dufferin took charge of waste collection, will be open.

Mayor Ryan was critical of the Province for their lack of help and poor support of the cleanup. She also wanted to know what  Mono would have in reserves in case of a disaster. CAO  Early said he would like to establish a disaster reserve fund in the 2017 budget. He reported that “Thursday (March 31) was a dangerous night. We are very happy no one was hurt.”

Mayor Ryan recalled that “it was like listening to guns go off” as the trees fell. Mr. McGee said his home did not have power for five days.

Mr. Dunmore said the public should know that it would be ideal if they stayed off the roads for 24 to 48 hours after such a storm. This will allow town staff to clear the roads and ensure all is safe.

Mayor Ryan ended the discussion by stating that in future “if Mono is out for more than 48 hours, the town should consider opening warming centres.”

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