Vanessa and Scott Massey came to the Alix council meeting to address a sewer backup that occurred in April of last year.
Council passed a motion to pay the Burmac Mechanical bill from Jan. 1 in the amount $675.68 and 50 per cent of the
Drain Doctor invoice dated Jan. 3, 2020 in the amount of $735. for services at the 4720 Lake Street residence.
The homeowners called the public works after-hours number where the staff member on call advised them to contact a plumber.
Later on, the village was notified the line would be repaired by the plumbing company and that the blockage was approximately 90 feet out. Based on the information, the village reimbursed the homeowner.
On Jan. 1, another blockage occurred with the homeowners once again contacting public works.
They again told them to call a plumber.
Staff were then at the property while the line was being checked by the plumber and found it to be a tree root problem.
The plumber did lose a bit of their auger in the service line before being able to get out to the main sewer line.
Staff were concerned about this missing piece and the fact the auger hadn’t reached the mainline so another company was booked for Jan. 3 where they had the line videoed, jet cleaned and traced.
The line is now clear but they found the root of the problem stems from the tree roots that remain.
Water bill increase
Council gave second and third reading to the utility bylaw with an amendment to the water rates within the village.
The Highway 12/21 Water Commission, a commission in which Alix sits on, has made a draft operating budget for 2020 which was seen in November.
The proposed rate per cubic metre of water at the time was set at $3.06 per cubic metre.
Then at the Dec. 4 meeting, an updated budget was handed out to its partners with a further increase to this at $3.09 per cubic metre.
At that time, council directed the council members who also sit on this commission to share their distaste for the rise in rates.
Numbers were checked and administration found that taking $7,000 out of reserves will keep the increase at bay for this year by using that funding to subsidize the payment for 2020. Council approved an increase in water rates for the village by increasing the water rate to $3.06 effective Jan. 1, 2020.
Residents were paying $2.96 per cubic metre before.
Terri Huxley
ECA Review
