As promised at Melancthon Council's Sept. 3 meeting, Deputy Mayor Bill Hill has produced a document at council in response to resident Karren Wallace's accusations of inaction of the council on more than a dozen issues related to the proposed Highland quarry.

As well, he outlined in detail how the Canadian Hydro amenities payment had come about and, in a separate letter directed to resident Cam McLean, outlined the impact on property taxes of proceeding with hydrogeological and other studies before receiving a formal application from The Highland Companies, as requested by a number of delegations to council.

On possibly the three main issues of contention, Mr. Hill said every additional $12,000 spent by the council means a one per cent increase in tax.

He estimated the special crop designation would cost perhaps $120,000 to implement, requiring a 10% tax hike. In the letter to Mr. McLean, he also suggested the recommended hydrogeological study might cost $237,000 for a 19.75% tax increase, and if $313,000 in amenities payments were used for purposes other than those to which they have already been allocated, there would be a hike of 26.08%.

He also explained that a provincially imposed cap on assessment of the wind turbines reduced Melancthon's taxation revenue from the wind farm to about $1,000 per unit from an expected $16,000 to $21,000, based on the turbines' market value.

(The amenities payment was meant to offset some of the lost revenue from taxes on turbines when the Province capped the assessment at $40,000 per megawatt of capacity.)

The council might not have initiated the requested studies of water, he said, as Highland will be required to pay for peer reviews of all their studies once an application has been submitted along with the studies.

In other responses to questions posed by the public, he said a special crop designation would be subject to public meetings and, even then, the council has confirmed that such a designation would not necessarily stop a quarry although it might make the approval process more difficult. This had also been pointed out briefly at a previous council meeting by consultant Garry Hunter.

On the issue of rejigging the 2009 budget to pay costs of requested studies, the responses point out that tenders have already been awarded on budgeted capital works.

The draft official plan for Melancthon has been at the ministry for several years, during which time, Mr. Hill said, there have been several changes in the relevant provincial legislation.

Approval of the OP is expected in 2010, at which time he said the council can proceed with a strategic plan.

Ms. Wallace had requoted inclusion of required studies in the OP. But an OP amendment would take a long time winning approval, Mr. Hill said, and the inclusion would restrict the council to the studies outlined.

As well, a proponent must not only satisfy the township but must demonstrate the validity of its planning and mitigation measures before winning approval of several ministries, such as Environment and Natural Resources.

Ms. Wallace and others had asked for action on increased fees and the requirement of a $500- million security deposit for a quarry. Mr. Hill said the fees charged must be justified, and any such measures could be appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board.

On Heritage designations for century farm homes to avoid demolition, he outlined the complications of taking such action and said in effect the designations could be opposed.

He and CAO Denise Holmes again outlined the Acts that would govern the issuance of demolition permits, and also pointed out that the county is responsible for the permits. The legislation also governs the setting of license fees.

Ms. Wallace was not reached for comment on the deputy mayor's response.