Philip McNeely

Several landowners appealed the Court of Revision's decision confirming the assessments for the Mill Creek Municipal Drain Improvement.

The engineer who prepared the report, Philip McNeely, stated at the hearing that he no longer felt the proposed project was viable and that it should not proceed.

Based on this statement, the Tribunal ordered that the engineer's report be abandoned and provided the affected municipalities and landowners an opportunity to develop an alternative proposal to address the flooding problem.

Several landowners and the Township of Kenyon appealed the engineer's report and the Court of Revision's decision regarding the MacCrimmon Municipal Drain improvement.

The proposed work involved replacing two culverts.

Upstream owners argued they received no benefit and should not be assessed costs, while the engineer assessed 50% of costs to abutting owners and 50% to the watershed.

The Tribunal found the work necessary as the existing culverts were unsafe and undersized.

The Tribunal ordered the engineer's report amended to divide overhead costs equally between the two culverts, assess the total cost of each culvert 50% to the abutting landowner and 50% to the contributing watershed, and clarify that maintenance of the culverts is part of the drain with costs shared similarly.

The Tribunal also ordered the removal of references specifying culvert sizes in the upstream Township of Kenyon.