Mertens fights for County

Mayor Leo Finnegan and councillor Peter Mertens met with provincial Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure Parliamentary Assistant Phil McNeely in Windsor on Monday. Together they are making the pitch that the province help out with the additional cost of the wastewater treatment plant in Picton.

When the province and the federal government committed to pay a third each for the new plant, the estimated cost was just $16 million.

However, when the plant is completed and running later this year, the cost will likely top more that $26 million. Mertens and Finnegan hope to twist some arms at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference this week urging provincial authorities to contribute a third of the true cost. Specifically, they are looking for a $3.3 million bump-up to the province’s contribution to the project.

Similarly Finnegan and Mertens are appealling to the federal government through MP Daryl Kramp. Mertens is hoping that when the clock runs out on federal infrastructure spending next year there will be money left in the till. He hopes to convince federal authorities that they have a lingering obligation to assist the residents of Prince Edward County with the higher-than-expected cost to replace its sewage treatment plant.