Chatsworth staff can't explain $176,000 Holland Centre drainage project

Chatsworth Township staff are asking council to explain a Holland Centre drainage project that was put in the township's capital plans in 2022 or 2023, was never finished, and would now cost an estimated $176,000.

"Staff are not aware of the reason for this project," Public Works Operations Manager Herb Lemon writes in Public Works Report 2026-38, which is on the agenda for council's regular meeting Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m.

"If Council is aware of project reasons, please provide input," the report says.

How it came to light

According to the report, "Staff have become aware of a 2022 and/or 2023 capital project that has not been completed." Lemon writes that a property owner on Williams Street contacted him early in the summer of 2026 about a road-crossing sewer that was to go through their property, and said the township was going to provide a severance.

The report says the property owner told staff the project was required for a proposed severance across the road. "No adverse drainage or flooding impacts have been observed in my time with the Township of Chatsworth," Lemon writes.

What was planned

The township hired GM Blue Plan Engineering (now GEI) in 2022 to do a preliminary drainage review tied to proposed lot severances, the report says. That review found a drainage problem in the William Street road allowance, "where an existing culvert is failing and causing flooding and runoff to outlet onto adjacent private property."

Of two options, the township chose a closed-pipe storm sewer that would carry water to an existing private pond outlet and end surface runoff over private property. The report calls it "the most practical long term solution." Only preliminary drawings exist, and a Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority permit would be needed for the outlet.

The $176,000 estimate

The report lists these costs to finish the project to today's standards:

• Consultation, final design and costing: $14,000
• Ministry of Transportation consultation, because the site is within 250 metres of the Highway 10 corridor: $6,000
• Permitting and tendering: $12,000
• Legal survey by an Ontario land surveyor and a new reference plan with the severance: $20,000
• Construction and contract administration: $12,000
• Construction: $112,000, covering a ditch inlet, two maintenance holes, about 70 metres of pipe, ditch regrading, a new driveway and culvert for the severed property, and tree removal

The report also lists planning and zoning analysis and council approval of the severance, with no dollar figure. It sets out 11 steps, from consulting the conservation authority to registering a final survey, including an easement agreement with the owners.

What council is asked to do

The recommended motion reads: "THAT Public Works Report 2026-38 Holland Center, Williams Street Drainage and Outlet Improvements be hereby received for information; and FURTHER THAT Council provide any comments or directions to staff to continue with this project and bring an updated budget to the 2027 Capital Budget deliberations."

If council tells staff to go ahead, the project will go into the 2027 capital budget, the report says. CAO/Clerk Rachel Anstett reviewed the report, and it is marked as reviewed by the treasurer.

The Banner sent questions to the township on Monday afternoon asking why the project was budgeted in 2022/23, why it was not carried out and whether council members recall its purpose. The township said it will reply, and this story will be updated with its answers.

Your turn

Do you know the history of the Williams Street drainage project, or have you had drainage problems in Holland Centre? Email news@chatsworthbanner.ca.