Skip to content

UPDATED: Prowse Road AAP narrowly passes

Gibsons council has adopted a loan authorization bylaw to pay for upgrades of the Prowse Road sewer lift station after an Alternative Approval Process (AAP) vote came down in the Town’s favour.
Prowse
The Prowse Road sewer lift station in Gibsons

Gibsons council has adopted a loan authorization bylaw to pay for upgrades of the Prowse Road sewer lift station after an Alternative Approval Process (AAP) vote came down in the Town’s favour.

After high-profile opposition from a former mayor, former councillor and the group Gibsons Alliance of Business and Community, 334 people submitted elector response forms opposing the borrowing.

The threshold to defeat the APP was set at 372, representing 10 per cent of eligible voters.

Opponents of the proposed $1.76-million loan argued the Town wasn’t requiring the developer of the George Hotel and Residences to pay a fair share of the cost, saying the waterfront project would be a major beneficiary of the new infrastructure and the extra burden it would place on the lift station was one of the main reasons it needs upgrading.

According to the staff report accompanying the APP results presented at the June 18 council meeting, a retrofit and eventual replacement of the Prowse Road lift station have been part of the Town’s long-term asset management plan since 2008.

“The need to move forward with this work has now become urgent, with planned upgrades to include replacing corroded pipes, improving the wet well and updating valves and electrical components. These upgrades are also expected to help the lift station better sustain extreme weather events, which have become more common in recent years,” the report says.

Coun. Annemarie De Andrade said that given the controversy she would have liked to see detailed, written answers to some of the questions that were raised.

“I know that some of them were answered during the information sessions, but I don’t feel all of them have been answered,” she said. “We cannot discredit the letters and just rule that claims that people are doing are unsubstantiated… I would like a commitment from the council and the Town of Gibsons as well that when we have these type of inquiries that we back it up with factual information.”

Coun. Stafford Lumley said he felt all the questions raised by the public and councillors were adequately addressed during the APP, and staff even went as far as making time to discuss issues one-on-one with residents. “I’m just not sure what else anybody can do.”

Coun. David Croal agreed, adding he thought it would be impractical to expect staff to offer an individual written response to every question.

The borrowing bylaw was adopted unanimously.