In response to the concerns voiced by the appellants, Gerard Rood, Rood Engineering provides the following remarks: 

•  Our establishment of cost sharing is done in accordance with practices that are used across the province for assessing bridge costs under drainage works on municipal drains pursuant to the Drainage Act.
•  If a bridge is located at a mid-point along the length of the drain in the watershed, the cost sharing would be 50% to the owner and 50% to upstream lands and roads that contribute flows that influence the sizing and cost of the structure that is necessary for a particular property.
•  When you go upstream, the size of the bridge normally reduces in size and the ratio of the cost sharing goes up slightly to reflect that the owners have less cost to pay than if you started downstream then the cost of the works are higher because you need a larger bridge due to the contribution of increased flow and the more expensive works that are necessary to provide a bridge.
•  Properties that are located west of the downstream are assessed at a lower rate. That's because the watershed contributing to the flows and the rates of the cost sharing for the bridges reflects that there are more properties and roadways that also contribute to the size and the cost of a downstream bridge.
•  When you look at the final assessment, the report is set up to try and balance it so that it is fairly even among all of the properties. The cost of the actual replacement is also influenced by the work necessary in order to replace the bridges depending on the location or the drainage works which could be affected by the depth or width of the drain, the amount of gravel, materials that are required or if there are other items related to the bridge such as asphalt surface or railings that have to be removed or replaced.
•  Those all come into the final construction costs and influences the final assessment amount that is allocated to the owner within the sharing of the remainder of the costs going to all of the upstream lands and roads that are set out in the assessment schedule.
•  When a property owner invests in a new access bridge, it increases the value of the property because that bridge will provide life service for concrete pipe that the city requires of 100 years or more to service the property. So whoever buys property in the future, they won't have to worry about bridge costs as the property values are enhanced by having a bridge that will provide that service life to the property so it's like an investment up front.

F. Mikhael advises the consultant checked all of the culverts for the possibility of any liability to the city, i.e. any cracks, deterioration and erosion around the culverts. F. Isabelle Tunks indicates the repair and improvements to the Cahill Drain is not imminent at this time. She adds the actual structure of the bridges have been reviewed to ensure there is no risk of collapsing as it would impact drainage upstream and cause flooding.