Message from the Reeve - Blueberry Creek Legal Fees

Message from the Reeve - Blueberry Creek Legal Fees

In recent weeks and months there have been unfounded claims that Tay Valley Township has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees associated with the Township's regulatory role concerning the Blueberry Creek Forest School, located at 17638 Highway 7, near Perth. The Township has been involved with this property since 2017 regarding a number of complex and challenging zoning, building code, and other issues - including that the Forest School is located within a designated floodplain.

The fact is the Township has expensed $60,559.88 in legal fees for all matters related to the Forest School, of which insurance covered $28,590.59. The Township also recently paid $25,000 to the property owner, as ordered by the court when the Township withdrew its application to the court regarding the Airbnb on the property. (Had the Township not withdrawn, many other Airbnb's in the Township would have become non-compliant with the Township's Zoning By-Law, meaning they would have become illegal.)

Thus, the total cost, to date, to payers of property tax in Tay Valley for all matters related to the Forest School is $56,969.29 ($60,559.88 in legal fees + $25,000 court order - $28,590.59 covered by insurance). This amounts to approximately $5,200 per year since 2018 when legal fees were first paid, or 0.0005 of the Township's 2026 budget of $10.1 million in expenditures.

Rob Rainer, Reeve