Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - North Shore News - A3
West Van utilities to jump $123 in 2012 Water and sewage fees won’t cover costs until approx 2060 Tessa Holloway tholloway@nsnews.com
UTILITY fees in West Vancouver will jump $123 for the median household in 2012, with sewage and water increases of 10 per cent and more. The total bill for the median home — the number that the most number of West Vancouver homes are closest to — will jump from $1,209 in 2011 to $1,332 in 2012. The numbers will continue to climb, and do not factor in a new sewage treatment plant. By 2016, the median water bill will have risen to $774 and the median sewage bill will jump to $877, according to projections presented to council by director of finance Nina Leemhuis. She said those are subject to change, however; this year’s sewage fee
increase came in slightly below projections. But despite those increases, West Vancouver won’t collect enough to maintain its water and sewage infrastructure until about 2060, said Leemhuis. That’s because right now West Vancouver collects less than half the amount required to pay for all projects over the next 100 years, and the cost of repairs is expected to spike dramatically over the next several decades. Water fees will jump 12 per cent in 2012 to a median rate of $492, sewage fees will jump 10 per cent to a median rate of $599, and garbage pick-up fees will jump six per cent to a median rate of $241 — even as the district considers moving to garbage pick-up once every two weeks in 2013. The cost increases stem partly from an increase in Metro Vancouver fees and a 2.5 per cent wage increase for workers, but especially the aging nature of the district’s sewer and water mains. All but a handful of the city’s sewer and water infrastructure was built in the 1960s and ’70s, and all of that infrastructure will need to be replaced over the coming decades. As well, West Vancouver’s low density and geography conspire to increase the cost: there are 6.5 metres of water mains for every resident in West Vancouver compared to 1.5 metres per person in Vancouver.
Leemhuis estimated the total cost over the next 100 years at $1.1 billion, but that doesn’t include costs associated with upgrading the Lions Gate sewage treatment plant from primary to secondary treatment, which is required by federal law. The budget for that project hasn’t been finalized, and neither the province nor the federal government has written a cheque. There was lots of concern around the council table in West Vancouver over the rate of increase, with Coun. Bill Soprovich questioning the “ever increasing amounts” and calling on council to keep in mind the ability of users to pay. But councillors also expressed concern of aging infrastructure breaking down, with Coun. Craig Cameron warning of an infrastructure deficit they could pass onto next generations. “We are not coming close to meeting our long-term costs for replacing infrastructure,” he said. “This is something I believe we need to address very seriously in the next three years.” Residents do have some control over their costs, reminded Coun. Nora Gambioli, since water and sewage bills are based on usage. “So if you want to pay less in your utilities you need to get a low-flush toilet and you need to get a low-flow shower head,” she said.
Tribunal warns it may impose harsher sanction From page 1 will continue separately. In a joint submission, Roland and the RCMP conduct prosecutor Greg Rose asked the tribunal to give Pearson a reprimand and dock him 10 days’ pay as punishment for his actions. But the tribunal warned Pearson it may impose a stiffer penalty. “We may be imposing a greater sanction than that being sought,” the chief adjudicator said, adding demotion and dismissal are both possible penalties under the act. “We could be looking at a demotion,” he said, adding the fact Pearson was a supervisor in a sexual relationship with a subordinate at a time when he knew she was on a gradual reentry to work from medical leave is an aggravating factor in the case. As the hearing continued into what sanctions Pearson should face, Roland called Pearson’s wife to testify as a character witness. The woman, who has been married to Pearson since 1995, urged the tribunal to be lenient with her husband. “He has admitted to his wrongdoing and he’s trying to make amends,” she said. “He deserves a chance.” Pearson’s wife — who Roland asked not be named — said her husband was always proud of being an RCMP officer even teaching an “introduction to policing” course for youth. She told tribunal members that she doesn’t depend on Pearson financially and has stayed with him despite the revelations of his affairs because she loves him, not because she has to. She described many of the allegations that have been levelled at her husband as “lies.” “I would not be with this man if I thought he was the monster he’s been made out to be,” she said. The disciplinary hearing continues this week.
NEWS photo Cindy Goodman
Making the grade DAVID Babcock and BA Blacktop workers continue making upgrades to the intersection of Welch Street and Capilano Road. New four-way stop lights, a designated bicycle lane and concrete dividers are all getting the finishing touches. In the spring, crosswalks surrounding the intersection will be painted with an aboriginal design.
Mulcair gets NV endorsement Mussatto and Keating back Quebec MP for NDP leadership Benjamin Alldritt balldritt@nsnews.com
TWO prominent North Shore New Democrats are publicly endorsing Quebec MP Thomas Mulcair for the leadership of the federal NDP. The City of North Vancouver’s Mayor Darrell Mussatto and Coun. Craig Keating met with Mulcair Friday afternoon, just before the opening of the provincial NDP’s annual convention, in Vancouver. Their conversation covered federal-municipal relations, sustainability and infrastructure. Both municipal politicians said they liked what they heard and both were quoted in a statement from the Mulcair campaign. “When not only I but so many other people see him, they imagine in him a man who could be prime minister of the country,” Keating told the North Shore News. Keating is a former provincial leadership contender and current B.C. NDP candidate for North Vancouver-Lonsdale. “He’s the one who’s got the gravity, the skills, the experience.
Amongst a slew of great candidates, he’s the one that stands out. He’s knowledgeable on every file he talks about. He’s a skilled debater and he can carry a message very effectively for the party. He seems to be the complete package.” Mussatto said he found Mulcair to be familiar with the issues facing local governments. “Usually federal politicians don’t understand municipalities that well, and he does. He gets it,” said Mussatto. “He gets the challenges that face municipalities. He knows that the federal and provincial governments have been putting pressure on municipalities to take up more with less — the sewage treatment plant for example.” Mulcair made no specific promises, said Mussatto, beyond a pledge to “listen and work with municipalities.” In the wake of the NDP’s historic breakthrough in Quebec this spring and the death of leader Jack Layton shortly afterwards, nine people are vying to lead the new Official Opposition. Only one, MP Nathan Cullen, is from B.C. “There are some very talented people,” Mussatto said. “There’s no doubt they are very capable people. But you have to have someone with previous elected experience and Thomas Mulcair has that as a member of the Quebec government and as an environment minister — cabinet-level experience. The others are great candidates I think, but they need more experience.” While Keating’s ties to the NDP are widely known, Mussatto — a
Darrell Mussatto
Craig Keating
member of the federal NDP — rarely calls attention to his involvement with party politics. “I’m trying not to make a big deal out of it,” he said. “As a mayor, I’m not there to represent the NDP, I’m there to represent the people of North Vancouver. I get along with any level of government, whether it’s federal or provincial, any party whether it’s Conservatives or Liberals. . . . So it is a bit of departure for me, but I believe so strongly in Thomas Mulcair that I said I would put my name forward in that regard.” New Democrats will vote for a federal leader March 24, 2012.