Today (Feb. 10) is the final day for residents in the Garden Bay Waterworks District (GBWWD) to postmark their ballots, voting for or against a merger with the Sunshine Coast Regional District's (SCRD) Hotel Lake system. The GBWWD board has said it's time for a change. The SCRD is looking to increase its water supply to keep up with the rapid development in the area. An Environmental Appeal Board decision last August stalled the SCRD from drawing more water from Hotel Lake until studies and a master plan are completed.
Residents have had three weeks now to peruse a consultant's report on the proposed merger, which the GBWWD mailed to each home. The report's findings were presented at a November public meeting, when the audience declared it needed more time and more information. There has now been a sufficient public consultation period, giving people plenty of time to ask the important questions and discuss the merger with their neighbours. I hope that during those discussions, people were really listening with an open mind, which did not seem to be the case at the November meeting.
Some people were there to get information while others were there to loudly voice their opinions, which is good, to a certain degree. When the person next to me is yelling "brainwashers" during the consultant's presentation, it's difficult for me to assess whether he is in fact trying to brainwash me when I can't hear what he's saying. From reading the report and talking with the consultant, the only bias I see in the report is an interest in what is best for the environment and for the water customers.
The report found numerous benefits and few, if any, detriments to the merger, with one benefit being local government's access to grants. The provincial Ministry of Community Services has approved a $33,333 grant covering two-thirds of an ultraviolet water treatment system if the merger goes ahead. When I called up the ministry last month after the announcement, the spokesperson stressed that grants are available only to local governments, not to improvement districts. Period. Despite my prodding, they made no indication of even a remote possibility of considering giving grants to improvement districts in the future. So don't hold your breath on that one. One way or another, system upgrades will need to be done, and here's a chance to have a significant portion covered.
Some of the opposition to the merger seems to stem from a mistrust of the SCRD and an opposition to change. From what I can see, the SCRD staff doesn't spend their days plotting how to screw over the Area A constituents and rob them blind through taxation. The SCRD staff may be based in Wilson Creek, but they would still be available to the community's needs, either by phone or by driving out to the site when necessary.
I haven't been a witness to the long history of water licence issues in Area A, but hopefully the people who have been have made a well-informed decision when casting their ballots.
