Good thing the previous Warfield council initiated a study of the village's aging pipes because the newly-elected panel was certainly put on the hot seat this week.
Following a sewer back up in his Schofield Highway house last year, an upset resident spoke to council Wednesday night over a subsequent $155 home insurance hike and the fact that the sewer problem has yet to be fixed.
The longtime village resident also questioned why neither he nor his neighbours were being kept in the loop about when the sewer pipe would be replaced or repaired.
“We are a little new to what was happening last year,” conceded Warfield Mayor Ted Pahl. “But we are in the planning stage because we know there is work to do in the spring. And this is one of the areas that is top priority.”
Pahl assured the man that he would personally contact him with an update once village council secured a budget for this year's infrastructure work.
“I hope your priority is not 10 years down the road,” said the resident.
“No, it's this year. I said I would keep you informed about what we are doing, and as soon as we get out planning in place, I will call you,” the mayor added.
Last year, Warfield council hired an engineering firm to begin an infrastructure study assessing specifically water, sewer and storm water systems, Pahl told the Trail Times Thursday morning.
“This council has just started to go through the data in this report,” he said. “Which will assist in building our longer term plan and give us the ability to prioritize low, medium and high needs.”
Additionally, village council is considering bringing in a third party to assist with five or ten-year community plan.
“First things first, in the next couple of weeks we need to finalize our 2015 budget so we know how much work we can do this year,” added Pahl.