A request by two Texada Island improvement districts for financial help from qathet Regional District (qRD) for upgrades to water systems went unresolved.
At the December 8 finance committee meeting, Texada Island delegation representatives Ron Smith, Chuck Childress and Tom Read encouraged regional directors to help fund upgrades to water works in Gillies Bay and Van Anda.
Gillies Bay Improvement District is seeking $1.3 million for improvements and Van Anda Improvement District is seeking $554,000. The improvement districts were seeking contributions from the regional district’s community works fund for the proposed upgrades.
The finance committee considered two recommendations, to respectfully deny the requests for an allocation from qRD’s community works fund for upgrades to waterworks and expansion of the water system to Shelter Point Park in the Gillies Bay area, and to fund replacement of water lines in Van Anda.
Electoral Area D (Texada Island) director Sandy McCormick said she was speaking against the recommendations. She said the two improvement districts represent about two thirds of the island’s population. She said there was not clean, safe drinking water in the improvement districts.
“This is substandard water that does not meet health criteria,” said McCormick. “I don’t want to be part of a board that says no to clean, safe drinking water, and yes to recycling depots and fencing around airports.”
McCormick said the fencing around the Texada Island Airport is something she would like to address. She said she supported taking the community works fund money allocated to the project and half it, giving 50 per cent to the water improvement districts. This would mean that $50,000 would be allocated to the fencing project and $25,000 each to the two improvement districts so they don’t walk away with nothing.
“There is nothing more important in our society than clean, safe drinking water,” said McCormick. “If we were to ask people on Texada which would you rather have, a functioning airport or clean, safe drinking water, there would be no contest. It is criminal that two-thirds of the island’s population does not have access to it.”
After extensive discussion by the finance committee members, on the first recommendation, regarding denying a community works fund allocation for Gillies Bay Improvement District, the finance committee defeated the motion.
McCormick then proposed the committee recommend the regional board remove $50,000 from its allocation to the Texada airport fencing and split it between the two improvement districts.
She said the $25,000 for each of the improvement districts would not solve the districts’ worries but it would allow them to do part of what they need to do.
McCormick’s motion was defeated, however, so no money was allocated to the two improvement districts from the community works fund.
On the second recommendation, to deny a community works fund allocation for the Van Anda Improvement District, the finance committee defeated the motion. Before the vote, McCormick said by defeating the recommendation, it leaves the door open for an additional motion sometime at a subsequent meeting that could address the issues.
