The federal government will no longer have to worry about Port Hope Harbour now that council voted four to three to accept the $8.8-million harbour property along with a cheque for $300,000.

Mayor Linda Thompson, along with Councillors Cal Morgan, Dave Turck and Ted Watts voted Tuesday in favour of taking over the property so as to be able to move forward with the implementation of the Waterfront Master Plan, although Morgan said he wasn’t sure coming into the meeting which way he would vote.

“It’s a difficult decision for me, but we’ve got to move on,” Morgan said. “We, as leaders, have to take that step.”

He added that there is liability and risk no matter which way council voted.

Prior to the vote, chief administrative officer Eugene Todd made a presentation to council outlining the process that has been ongoing for more than 30 years.

“But we hit the ground running in 1991 with the completion of a waterfront master plan,” he said.

Since that time, the plan has been updated and a steering committee formed. They became committed to working hand-in-hand with the Port Hope Area Initiative and Cameco for the cleanup, he said.

The plan includes facilities such as a playgrounds, splash park, trails, washrooms to Cameco’s Vision 2010, Riverside Park construction, the “green ribbon” connector between downtown and the waterfront, and the new East Marina and beach, he said.

In October 2007 a letter, which Todd said he considered a memorandum of understanding, was issued outlining the implementation of the divestiture of the Port Hope Harbour, along with the agreement to pay $300,000 to assist with sediment management until a solution could be found.

“As the acquired lands primarily reside on the periphery of the area associated with the cleanup, advice was received that the liability associated with these lands was limited,” Todd said.

The key component of the divestiture is the new east marina and beach that will require two to three years of prep work before phasing in the 200 to 250 slips that would be considered sustainable, Todd said.

Deputy Mayor Jeff Lees reiterated his displeasure with acquiring the harbour, claiming it would be a huge liability with future costs for dredging and sediment testing.

But the municipality has been footing most of the bill for the dredging over the past years, Todd said, adding that since the mid-1990s, the federal government has not had any funding for dredging.

Asked by Councillor Karen O’Hara why it’s taken 33 months since the letter of agreement back in 2007 to get to this point, Todd said that the council of the day was very concerned with liability.

“They were being very careful and diligent,” he said. “And we missed the window of opportunity last year.”

The question of what would happen if Port Hope refused to take on the harbour was raised several times during Tuesday’s council meeting and Todd provided a list of possibilities.

These included the federal government putting the 173- acre property (much of which is water property) up for public sale.

This could mean that residents and visitors would no longer be able to access the existing marina or beaches; rather it could be developed by private companies.

Morgan said that if the federal government retained the property and didn’t do any maintenance, the sediment could build up to the point of being dangerous — and possibly cause the need to close the harbour completely.

But accepting the property could mean that, in five years, the piece of property currently leased by Cameco could be sold for a reasonable profit, plus the lease payments would be negotiated between Cameco and the municipality effective immediately.

“That money would assist with the waterfront development,” Todd said.

O’Hara said she smelled a rat, and it could be a river rat, and said she would prefer to stand firm until after the cleanup is completed.

“We should stay on track and then move forward,” she said, adding that it was a huge liability to take on for a measly $300,000.

Councillor Bob Fudge suggested to the mayor that the floor be opened to the public for questions and comments considering the immensity of the issue, but Thompson said no.

She said that the issue has been on the council table for many years, complete with public meetings and other opportunities for public comment.

“We open the floor for questions after,” she said.

Lees asked for a recorded vote and the vote carried.

via Port Hope accepts responsibility for harbour – Northumberland Today – Ontario, CA.