Editor:
At the Sechelt council meeting of May 7, I posed the question, “When will a motion come to an open meeting of council to authorize the investing of the $5.9 million from reserves that will earn interest income of $0.9 million over 10 years and not be spent?”
Mayor Henderson stated there would be no motion. No investment. No interest earned! Council needed $2.5 million of the $7.4 million loan to complete the sewer plant construction.
The yes campaign conducted by Sechelt council with flyers, newspapers, radio ads by council members and by a personal letter from the chief financial officer all encouraged a yes vote, claiming it would save the District taxpayers $2.2 million in project financing costs.
The ads, letters and District flyer stated that this was a good deal because it was like getting an interest-free loan. They said that “the non-repayable grant was only available with the loan and the grant amount tied to the amount of the loan.
Is council charging the loan interest to the sewer participants and using the $1-million grant for something else? The Jan. 15, 2014 council minutes show the sewer participants will pay the 10-year repayment schedule for both the interest and principal.
This was seven weeks before the referendum was held.
Council should follow through on their promise and utilize the $1-million non-repayable grant to pay the loan interest. Invest the remaining $4.9 million for 10 years. During that time it cannot be spent and any additional monies earned from this investment must be put into sewer reserves since it is the sewer participants who are repaying the loan.
Ed Steeves, Davis Bay
