qathet Regional District (qRD) directors have voted in favour of a proposed cost-sharing arrangement with City of Powell River for the resource-recovery centre’s $2.5 million overrun.
At the qRD board meeting on November 6, city director Cindy Elliott moved that the regional district board contact city council with a proposal to jointly and equitably fund the $2.5 million required for completion of the final stage of construction. She suggested utilizing community works grant funding, with contributions based on the formula for each area’s proportionate share of the equitable funding established through the solid waste management service allocation as follows: City of Powell River to provide $1,298,535 and qathet Regional District to provide $1,201,465 for Electoral Areas A, B, C, D and E.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said the matter had been discussed at length by the qRD finance committee earlier in the day.
“This is something that is going to seriously impact the electoral areas, especially when it comes to their water systems, their fire protection, the cost they are going to pay for fire trucks, and I think having this go through on the same day is depriving the public of the opportunity to come in and give feedback,” said Gisborne. “I would be in favour of having this take place at the next regional board meeting.
“For all the reasons I put forward at the finance committee, I am not in favour of this. If this passes, it will result in no real change for the city’s taxation, but in the electoral areas, it will result in an increase in taxation where we will have to take out increased borrowing for our fire apparatus and our water systems.”
Electoral Area A director Jason Lennox said the board was moving quickly on this initiative. He said he was opposed to this at finance committee and he was still opposed.
Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said she took issue with Gisborne’s comments because the motion does not commit the regional district to spending anything.
“It commits us to contacting the city,” said McCormick. “Subsequent motions will deal with taxation and the impact of this will filter down to the electoral areas in subsequent meetings. Right now, this is just to contact the city and I support that.”
Gisborne said the motion is to contact the city, however, if the regional district decides to do anything different than what is in the motion, the regional board would be negotiating in bad faith, and that is inappropriate.
“This, essentially, does bind us to future decisions,” added Gisborne.
The board voted in favour of the motion, with Lennox and Gisborne opposed.
The initiative for the regional district and the city to use community works funds was brought to regional directors by Electoral Area C director and board chair Clay Brander, who saw the initiative as a method for not burdening taxpayers for the $2.5 million that needs to be paid to complete the resource-recovery centre. By not borrowing the $2.5 million, Brander said taxpayers would be saved from paying approximately $3.8 million in interest.
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