Ozzie's back, board discusses Fort Creek Dam project

He’s back.

Ward 6 councillor Ozzie Grandinetti was in attendance at Tuesday’s Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority (SSMRCA) board meeting, his first time back after being appointed to the board in July.

He was sworn in as Ward 6 councillor July 17, appointed by council to replace Ross Romano, who made the jump to provincial politics as the Sault’s new MPP.

At that time, Grandinetti also replaced Romano on the Conservation Authority board.

Grandinetti served previously on the board from Feb. 2009 to Dec. 2012, during his previous term as Ward 6 councillor.

Grandinetti, owner/operator of Grandinetti Construction, told SooToday Tuesday “it feels good to be on the board, I’ll try to get on a few more (boards),” adding he’s getting back into the swing of things as a council member.

The Conservation Authority board formally approved its 2018 budget request Tuesday for $489,750.06 (a 1.7 per cent increase over this year), to be reviewed by council later this year.

Prince Township’s share of the 2018 budget request came to $5,373.62, also an increase over this year.   

The board also formally reconfirmed a separate request to council for $45,000 in capital funding for its Fort Creek Dam project.

A resolution concerning the dam project was originally approved by council in June.

Bateman said a necessary application to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) for the Fort Creek project will be submitted in the spring, after the Conservation Authority’s budget is approved by council.

“After our dam safety review, which was published in 2015, there were recommendations in that report, and as a result of those recommendations we’ve done as many of them as we can in- house, so now there have to be some studies done and some actual technical work at the dams, so there’s going to be a $45,000 request from the city for 2018,” Bateman explained.

An additional $37,500, for additional capital project work at Fort Creek, will be requested from the city by the Conservation Authority in 2019, Bateman said.