CLARINGTON — The Municipality has $10 million about to burn a hole in its pocket, and needs advice on how to spend it, says a Clarington councillor.

About a decade ago, in the early stages of the Port Granby low level radioactive waste project, the federal government granted $10 million to Clarington, with the stipulation the principle not be spent until construction was underway. It was intended to help the Municipality deal with the impacts associated with the presence of a long-term nuclear waste management facility within its borders.

Now, with construction poised to begin in the foreseeable future, council should get some input on how to spend it, especially in light of a proposal by Mayor Jim Abernethy to put $500,000 toward a hospital fundraising effort, said Councillor Gord Robinson.

He’s asked for a report from Clarington finance director Nancy Taylor and CAO Franklin Wu, on how best the money can be used.

“I want to be sure this council deals with its own responsibilities, not the responsibilities of an upper tier government,” Coun. Robinson said, noting there are lots of projects councillors could seek funds for that would be popular with the electorate.

“I could come with notice of motion requesting full time firemen, but I think we need direction,” he said.

Council had considered a donation to the hospital just after the 2006 election, but at the time, the mayor and other members of council argued against it, saying health care was ultimately the responsibility of the Province.

But, the mayor has since said he didn’t realize at the time of the original vote on the matter that the Municipality had the $10 million being held in trust. That money, he said recently, “should be used in some way to benefit all the people in the community.”

The motion is to be discussed at council’s March 1 meeting.

The Port Granby Project is aimed at finding a safe way to store the 500,000 cubic metres of waste left over from operations at Eldorado Resources.

The waste and some marginally contaminated soils were placed in the Port Granby Waste Management Facility on the Lake Ontario shoreline between 1955 and 1988. Now, contaminants from the waste are leaching into both Lake Ontario and area groundwater.

The Low Level Radioactive Waste Management Office has spent several years looking at how best to deal with the waste, eventually coming up with a preferred option. The method includes moving the waste across Lakeshore Road, to an engineered, lined and capped storage mound.

The project awaits final federal approval.

Cleanup and construction is expected to start around 2012.