MAPLETON ‒ Mapleton's CAO has changed his mind about privately financing the expansion of its water and wastewater systems.
During a council meeting in Mapleton Tuesday afternoon, CAO Manny Baron said he feels it's time to get updated pricing and move forward with a request for proposal (RFP) to revisit the possibility of a financial partnership with a private enterprise.
The proposal was unanimously approved by councillors, with no additional comments.
"For almost six years now, we’ve been looking at ways to address water and wastewater," said Baron, during the meeting. "With what we’re seeing from the government…I think it’s important that we begin this journey once and for all."
The total cost for upgrading and renewing both the water and wastewater systems is approximately $23 million and would take over 10 years to complete using a traditional borrowing and staging approach.
In 2020, council hit the brakes on their original RFP due to council and CAO concerns that there's too much risk involved in having a private company run water and wastewater.
However, Baron said proposed projects like a new school or childcare are currently impossible without the upgrade.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
