2023 Water Rate Correction
An error in calculating the 2023 metered water rates was corrected with four readings of a bylaw amendment at the Jan. 12 Sunshine Coast Regional District board meeting.
That rate was adjusted to $1.93 per cubic meter, to reflect the 23.64 per cent increase over the previous year’s rates that the board had endorsed.
In the bylaw version adopted on Dec. 15, 2022, the per cubic metre rate was listed as $2.56, and the corrected rate will be applied to 2023 billings, according to a staff report.
Grant sought for Square Bay wastewater system
The board supported applying for a grant from the province for an upgrade planning study for Halfmoon Bay’s Square Bay wastewater collection system. A staff report detailed that system currently serves 85 homes, some of them on collection mains that are 45 years old, which are experiencing high levels of groundwater inflow and infiltration. The study, which had been deferred from a previous year, will identify the repairs needed to address “negative impacts on its treatment plant operations and effluent quality” according to a staff report.
If a grant of $10,000 is received, the Square Bay service area would need to contribute $5,000 toward the costs of the study, which staff recommended be funded from the area’s operating reserves.
9-1-1 improvements
An item that will be waiting until September for a decision is the SCRD’s agreement with TELUS regarding the next generation 911 Service Agreement. At a committee of the whole session hosted in advance of the board meeting, it was noted that the requirement to fund this agreement was not due until 2024, the elected representatives opted to wait. Several directors noted this would allow more time for the Union of BC Municipalities to lobby on behalf of local governments for the province to cover more of the costs of this essential service upgrade.
