Following last fall's severe flooding, the Town of Lakeshore is taking the lead of neighbours Windsor and Tecumseh in setting up a sanitary backwater valve subsidy program.
Councillor Steven Wilder pushed for the motion which would see 80% or up to $750 of the total cost of a backwater valve covered by the municipality.
While Windsor and Tecumseh had the worst of the flooding, parts of Lakeshore were also hit. Wilder says it was that flooding that sparked calls to town hall asking about the program, only to find out the town didn't have one.
The proposed budget for the new initiative is $7,500 — a figure Wilder feels won't be enough to keep up with demand.
"Myself I was concerned that that was way too low of a number and ultimately, given some of the preliminary estimates we have, we could be looking at upwards of 140 applications — potentially more than that," says Wilder. "So, my concern is that we set an adequate funding level so make sure that residents aren't left out."
Wilder feels the town should be looking to help its residents after many took a big hit from the flooding.
"Both from a monetary standpoint, but sentimental items that they lost as well. I don't know how many residents I heard from lost family photo albums, things of that nature. So, I think it's incumbent upon the municipality to do anything we can to try to help, to try to assist," says Wilder.
The town is taking applications until June 30th to see what kind of demand there is for the program before committing to a funding amount.