Dear Editor:
Re: Township purchases long-coveted well on Middlebrook Road, April 10.
It is important to clarify the statement in last week’s Advertiser that Nestlé Waters offered to donate the Middlebrook Road property to Centre Wellington, but the township rejected the offer. This needs explanation.
Nestlé representatives came to a December 2016 council meeting and proposed a partnership with the township. Nestlé was willing to discuss donating the property, with the township then receiving revenue from Nestlé’s use of the well.
Lawyers advised that such a partnership had potential down the road to threaten municipal financial and water security. It could put the township at risk.
Further, just a few weeks prior, the province had put in place a two-year moratorium, which was designed to give the government an opportunity to re-think all the rules regarding water permits, especially for water bottlers. By engaging in discussions about using a local well for water bottling, the township would lose credibility with the province.
The proposed partnership was not a donation by any real definition, nor was it in the township’s best interest.
The township waited eight more years for the property to be for sale.
Jan Beveridge,
Elora