By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Tyler Waugh
Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove council dealt with a number of letters of concern from residents at its August 10 public meeting, including one regarding a July water break on private property on the Motion Bay Road Extension.
The letter writer lives at 9 Motion Bay Road Extension and, in addition to the letter of concern, requested to have a related water shutoff fee waived. The homeowner was made aware by a neighbour of water seeping onto the property but did not realize at that time the water was coming from a leak in the water line.
The resident reported the Town council was contacted Monday, July 20 about the issue and the Town foreman was also called, though he was reportedly off at the time.
“This, to me, was a serious situation and one that should have been addressed right away or at least investigated the same day,” stated the letter, read into the record by CAO Mandy Dinn.
The Town employee did not show up until Wednesday, according to the resident, and a contractor was not contacted until Thursday.
“I had no idea I was supposed to hire someone to do this work, however, I did know that any work done on my property I was responsible to pay for,” wrote the resident, adding it was unclear how to proceed once it was determined the leak was coming from her property’s water line. “All I heard was that it was your problem and you have to pay for the work. I was given no guidance from council whatsoever on how to proceed with the issue. If council had responded in a timely manner to this complaint the work most likely would have been completed during the week and not the weekend.”
The resident stated she didn’t want to wait until Monday, July 27 to get the work done but also didn’t want to subject the neighbour to additional water damage to their property. She argued it is the Town’s responsibility to counsel property owners in such matters and that it made no sense to leave action on the matter to the resident. She also suggested that, in the future, it would make more sense for council to hire the contractor to fix the leak and then bill the resident.
Mayor Ed Dyke responded that the dates mentioned in the letter were incorrect and that he and an employee visited the owner on Tuesday and advised the water leak was on her property. They visited the homeowner again the following afternoon, he added, and advised the owner to call contractors, noting it is not the Town’s responsibility to do so.
“The reason it is not our responsibility is because if the contractor goes in and makes a mess of the thing or does something the homeowner says is not up to their liking, then it’s the Town that (is held responsible),” Dyke said, adding that from the shutoff out to the road it is the Town’s responsibility.
Dyke said he got a call from the Town employee on the Thursday saying the resident wasn’t going to get it done on the weekend because she didn’t want to pay the resulting water shutoff fee.
Dinn said the $150 shutoff fee covers part of the cost of salary, overtime and equipment use when an employee has to be called in on a Saturday.
“Sometimes that $150 doesn’t even cover the cost of sending somebody to shut off the water,” Dinn said, pointing out there is no charge on weekdays for water shutoffs because employees are already on the clock.
Deputy Mayor Irene Stack said she sympathized with the resident feeling that she was not properly informed about how to proceed, though she didn’t doubt the mayor’s recollection of events.
Stack agreed with Dyke that the Town cannot take on the liability of hiring contractors for work that is the responsibility of residents. However, she expressed hope the Town can improve the way it advises residents of their responsibilities.
Council decided against waiving the emergency shutoff fee.
