CENTRE WELLINGTON – The Township of Centre Wellington has hit another roadblock when it comes to dealing with its termite issue.
Following up on a news tip, a township spokesperson and Mayor Shawn Watters confirmed negotiations with an approved vendor for termite management services could not be finalized but Watters stressed the township will still try to move forward with a program.
In late-September 2023, Centre Wellington council approved the township to enter into negotiations with Termite Research Services Inc. for termite management services at an upwards cost of $1.4 million over a five-year period.
Kendra Martin, a spokesperson for the township, said in response to an emailed list of questions that “negotiations have not been successful to date; therefore staff will be reporting back to council soon.”
Martin did not immediately respond to questions about why this happened and if the project has been deferred or needs to be re-tendered.
In a phone interview, Watters said things seemed to be in place for this to proceed but that didn’t end up happening.
“It takes two groups to culminate these things, so it’s not like we can force someone to move ahead with anything,” Watters said. “We came to the conclusion that we’re not able to close this.”
Watters said he wasn’t able to elaborate on what happened during negotiations that caused them to fall through but noted there may be information coming in the future.
“Right now there’s not much to say but the intent is to move forward with the termite program,” Watters said. “If you’re looking for a takeaway, that's the most important thing.”
Tim Myles, an entomologist and owner of Termite Research Services Inc., declined to comment when reached by phone.
This mirrors similar events in 2022 when negotiations with another pest control company for termite management services also didn’t materialize.
In August 2022, council approved staff to negotiate a contract with Balson Preventative Solutions Inc. at an upwards limit of $200,000 for a one-year program including public education, fall nematode treatment and provision of fall yard wood waste clean-up bins.
This program also did not go forward because an agreement couldn’t be reached and again, both parties were unable to provide details on why it didn’t proceed.
A 2021 survey of neighbourhoods in Fergus and Elora performed by the same company found there were 259 properties with active termite activity and a further 219 at risk of infestation.
