Resort should be paying homeowner hook-ups

In the Jan. 2 Scope article, Big Bay Point developer seeking costs, Chris Simon writes, "As part of the plan, Geranium will spend $10 million to extend sewer service from the Alcona Waste Water Treatment plant to the resort, giving 1,600 current property owners with septic systems an opportunity to switch to municipal services."

An opportunity to switch? As if Geranium were presenting the 1,600 homeowners with a gift? As if we will have a choice to switch? What first comes to mind is the debacle of a number of years ago when untold thousands of gallons of water were pumped from the doomed development property on the 25th Sideroad, south of the 11th Line, thereby leading to dry wells in the nearby homes. With this in mind, one can assume homeowners near the mammoth Geranium project will be similarly affected, and their wells go completely or partially dry as a result of water pumping in order to pour the foundations of the resort. A choice for homeowners to switch? Not very likely. Dry or drying wells of our wonderful water will probably force the decision on us.

What next came to mind was that the paragraph in the article seemed to suggest a generosity on the part of Geranium which promises to "spend $10 million" from its own pockets to extend the sewer service up the 25th Sideroad to their development property. It looks magnanimous on paper; what is not included are the costs each of the 1,600 property owners will incur in hooking up to this system (hopefully before our wells go dry). If the developer were truly magnanimous, included in his projected costs would be the hook-up costs of the homeowners who will have this sewer service inflicted upon them. Why would we expect this? Well, to put it simply, it is because Geranium has a dream to create a resort property that will make lots of money for them. And to do so, they need sewer services, services which must pass in front of the homes on each side of the 25th, north of the 11th.

Our dream was to live quietly and rurally. Why should Geranium's money making dream supersede ours, and in the process, drain money from our pockets? How about it fellas? How about digging a little deeper into those very deep pockets and find the extra cash to pay for all our hookups so you can build your profit-making resort?
Donna Procher,
Innisfil