ALL OPTIONS ON THE TABLE: Town Considering 'Sponsor a Beetonian' Fundraiser To Deliver Household Water To Residents Of Future Subdivision

For the price of a daily cup of coffee, you could soon provide a future resident of Beeton with potable water. Ever since a residential developer petitioned council to allow the construction of a subdivision without water allocation, people have been looking for solutions. That’s where the Sponsor-a-Beetonian initiative comes in.

“Well, the idea came to me when I saw one of those commercials for helping people with water in other countries,” Geoff Brandman told council in a recent deputation. “And then I thought: Why don’t we do something similar here.” 

The town recently proposed that the developer, Plateau Homes, would post signs warning that water and drainage allocations were currently unavailable, but some think the houses simply don’t need water or drainage.

“I don’t see what the big deal is. All this over water?” said Maria Antoinette, the owner of both a house and an automatic sprinkler system. “Let ‘em drink wine.”

While the idea has its critics, like those who say such an undertaking in a developed nation is ridiculous, there appears to be some willingness to consider every option. 

“Whether this looks like delivering a weekly case of Dasani or maybe the purchase of rain barrels to fill their hot water tanks, I don’t know exactly. What I do know is we have to come up with something.”

Brandman’s deputation mentioned possible fundraising efforts to help find sponsors for future Beetonians, such as a telethon, a door-to-door campaign, and a carwash. 

When local churches learned of Brandman’s fundraising efforts for those lacking safe, readily available water, they reached out to offer help with purchasing a communal goat or school supplies, but Brandman declined. 

At the meeting, some commended Brandman for his ingenuity while others saw his vision as nothing but pipedreams. 

“Sure, getting water from the water treatment plant in Collingwood would be the ideal situation,” Geoff Brandman told the Alliston Gerald. “But this has to be a close second.”