qathet Regional District (qRD) board approved $5.5 million in borrowing to develop and construct the resource-recovery centre and waste transfer station.
At the October 29 regional board meeting, regional directors approved a bylaw to authorize borrowing of funds for a 30-year term. The bylaw was adopted without discussion.
According to the bylaw, estimated cost of developing and constructing the resource-recovery centre and waste transfer station is $12,202,000. Of that total, the regional district has received a $6 million federal grant for the project, which is currently in its second phase of development and involves cleanup of the waste transfer site that served as City of Powell River’s incinerator for many years. The third phase, scheduled for next year, will involve construction of the facility.
The bylaw states that the regional district management plan has been approved by the provincial minister of environment and climate change strategy under section 24(5) of the Environmental Management Act and borrowing authority to implement the waste management plan does not require approval of electors.
qRD board chair Patrick Brabazon confirmed at the meeting that there will be no referendum or other voter mechanism to approve the borrowing because the province has given approval to the project.
According to the regional district 2020 to 2024 financial plan, the tax rate for waste management in 2020 was $16.83 per $100,000 of assessed value, and will rise to $22.68 in 2021, $23.41 in 2022, $28.73 in 2023 and $30.65 in 2024. This figure is consistent throughout City of Powell River and all electoral areas.
