A number of residents and businesses along Highway 3 east in the R.M. of Dufferin are petitioning to have their properties annexed to the Town of Carman.
    
The owners which have holding tanks for sewage, which can be quite expensive, want to be hooked up to the town's water and sewage lines, which can only be done if they're annexed into Carman.
    
Mayor Bob Mitchell says for some of the property owners the request is a matter of cost, as the sewage system is cheaper.    

He said there is another factor playing into the matter for the residents. The seven property owners requesting to be annexed currently receive their water from a private line, and the owner of the line, a vegetable storage facility, no longer wants to be responsible for it.

Mitchell said right now, they're waiting to hear from a contractor to give them an estimate as to how much it will cost to have sewer and water lines installed. From there they will sit with the R.M. of Dufferin to figure out a tax sharing agreement. The application will then be brought to the Municipal Board.

The Town of Carman and R.M. of Dufferin have a tax sharing agreement in place that splits the tax on annexed land.

Meantime, R.M. of Dufferin Reeve George Gray said the municipality is aware of a movement of this nature, but (as of interview time) no official application had been made to the R.M. for the annexation. He said council will engage further as things move ahead.

Related Article: Carman-Area Landowners Look To Form Water Co-op