KAGAWONG—Billings Township pledged a funding commitment to investigate options for the Island-wide waste management initiative it spearheaded.
“Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about this issue,” stated Billings councillor Vince Grogan at a council meeting last week. “By agreeing to a funding commitment to look at moving this initiative forward it shows we are putting our money where our mouth is. We have over 20 years left on our landfill site, but I’d rather work with other municipalities on the Island to look at fixing problems we are all facing with waste now.”
“This is a great report, and I concur with Councillor Grogan,” said Councillor Dave Hillyard. “I hope this initiative gets continued support, we get the ball rolling and I agree we (Island municipalities and First Nations) need to pull all our resources together to come up with solutions to all our waste management issues on the Island.”
Both Councillors Jim Cahill and Michael Hunt also indicated they support the recommendations made by township staff.
“I support this recommendation as well,” stated Mayor Bryan Barker. “We are committing $5,000 for the initiative. It shows our commitment to this initiative, and there are funding programs under the Green Municipal Fund that are available. So, there could be lots of opportunities to solve waste management issues on the Island. I fully support making this commitment and like the idea that we are leading the charge on this; and showing our commitment to work with other municipalities and First Nations.”
Township staff made a couple of recommendations for council to consider. One was that in order to drive the initiative, formal commitment is needed. It was recommended that a sub-committee be formed that would include community leaders. This sub-committee could request a delegation at the neighbouring municipalities and First Nation communities to request formal commitment to support an Island-wide waste management solution. The second recommendation was for Billings to commit to including $5,000 in the 2024 township budget to move the initiative forward.
The first Island-wide waste management meeting was held in Billings in June with almost all Island municipalities and First Nations represented along with MPP Michael Mantha, representatives from GFL, Dodge Haulage, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Manitoulin EcoPark and Eco-Growth Environmental.
A common consensus of the group was to continue with discussions on moving the initiative forward. The second meeting of the group is scheduled this week.
Staff have also researched funding opportunities for the initiative and have found that under the Green Municipal Fund dollars are available to implement innovative waste-management solutions and reduce, recover, and recycle solid waste.
Funding is available in grants or loans combined with grants for all stages of the project’s life cycle. Grants of up to 50 percent of eligible costs to a maximum of $175,000 are available; pilot project grant from 50 to 80 percent of eligible costs up to a maximum of $500,000; and capital projects financing for up to 80 percent of eligible costs to a maximum combined financing of $10 million are available for initiatives.
In order to apply for the funding, administrative costs will be incurred to coordinate and gather all the information needed for any applications and in garnering support. The costs are not known at this time as it would depend on the number of municipalities and First Nations communities participating.
“Staff is recommending that the township of Billings take the lead and formally commit to partnering with all the municipalities and first nation communities on Manitoulin Island to support an Island-wide waste management solution and commit to including $5,000 in the 2024 township of Billings budget to move the initiate forward.”
Council approved the recommendations.
