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Thursday, April 4, 2013
VOL. 31 Number 14
Kettle River Lions Simmonds runs serve dinner for Parkinson’s See Page 3 See Page 11
PAT KELLY
Boundary Creek Times Reporter
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RDKB will examine water service
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The cost and benefits of establishing a water service for residents around the City of Greenwood will be examined, says the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB). RDKB CAO John MacLean presented a memo to the board at its March 27 meeting, outlining the history of the issue. For many years the city has been providing water to properties in Anaconda as well as on the north end of the city (both are rural and part of Electoral Area E), the memo stated. “The original agreements regarding provision of this service were with associations or groups that no longer exist. This has led to difficulties in determining the responsibility for capital maintenance and repair of infrastructure that is outside the city.” The city currently charges an equal water user fee to all users of the city’s water. The city has been taking a small portion of the fees paid by rural users and setting it aside in a reserve fund, which has a current balance of approximately $8,000; however, the memo states that this amount is not sufficient for the capital and maintenance needs of the water system outside the city boundaries. In the memo, MacLean proposes a service be established with the authority to raise funds. “In order to ensure that we are being fair to both the residents of the rural area and the
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Bunny bust-up!
Bailey Hatch (left), Lauren Fraser, Emma Lindquist and Katelyn Hesketh watch as Matthew Fraser goes at the Easter piñata in Westbridge Hall on Saturday. PHOTO: PAT KELLY
City of Greenwood, we need to determine the capital needs of the rural service area. We could then apply a reasonable capital replacement charge that would see to the infrastructure needs of the service area for the next 30 years.” He says the city could then take responsibility for the maintenance of the entire system with the knowledge that they would have long-term stable capital funding. The regional district will now put out a request for proposals to find a qualified engineering firm to look at the existing infrastructure, compare that to the normal standard for a service such as this and provide a cost per parcel over a 30-year
time frame. This information could then be used to establish water user rates for the rural water users. The cost of the study (up to $15,000) will be funded from the Feasibility Reserve, though the memo notes this amount may not cover all of the costs of the study. Another option, mentioned only in passing in the memo, would be to expand the municipal boundaries to include the rural areas currently being serviced by the city water system. “Having this information is an absolute necessity when we eventually meet with the public to discuss their options,” MacLean’s memo stated.
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West Boundary Branch 256 S. Copper, p.o. box 76, Greenwood, b.c. voh ijo Phone: 250-445-9900 Fax: 250-445-9902
online: www.heritagecu.ca