New parcel tax will pay for sewer work

By Steve Hubrecht steve@columbiavalleypioneer.com

Municipal taxes will be going up in Invermere to help pay for the extensive water and sewer upgrades undertaken last summer. A parcel tax, which amounts to $50 per parcel, moved several steps closer to becoming official when it got three readings during last week’s Invermere council meeting, on Tuesday, Feb. 14. (Councillors marked the meeting coinciding with Valentine’s Day by decorating their name placards with cutout hearts).

The new tax has been in the cards for some time, but it did, however, prompt a nearly half hour of discussion. This was not so much due to a sudden surge of civic interest or to outrage about increasing taxes among the local populace, but rather because three of the five by-election candidates vying for the open seat on Invermere council were in the gallery. Seeking greater insight into the machinations of local government, they peppered the councillors and staff with questions about the new tax and the work it will pay for.

That work — which is phase two of water and sewer upgrades along 13th Avenue — began last year and is scheduled to be completed later this spring (once the ground thaws again). The upgrades were on a section of 13th Avenue between 10th Street and 15th Street and include some work done on 15th Street itself.

This second phase of upgrades followed hot on the heels of the first phase of sewer upgrades on 13th Avenue which took place during summer and fall 2021. Both projects (phase 1 and phase 2) were urgent endeavours — there was a distinct possibility that, if the work did not happen quickly, residents would find sewage flooding into their homes.

Just how ancient and desperately in need of repair the water