COUNCIL UP-DATES

Message From The Mayor

Jack Bowers

Negotiations have begun with Yukon Government to finalize a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Town of Faro (TOF) to become a “regional landfill” and thereby accept non-hazardous municipal solid waste (MSW) from outside of our municipal boundaries. YG is proposing that the Faro Landfill become the Faro Regional Landfill that, by agreement, accepts solid waste from those properties/persons/companies within the specified regional Faro area. This would include properties along the Magundy River, Little Salmon Lake, Ross River and those properties along the Robert Campbell Highway to limits yet to be defined.

The agreement would provide for an annual payment to TOF for each property within the “Faro Region” plus providing for the Town to collect tipping fees from users for approved types of waste as set forth in the agreement. The Town’s position would also require an additional annual payment made by YG to TOF for environmental, regulatory, and capital costs associated with Faro becoming a regional landfill. Faro’s landfill is just one of two municipal owned landfills, the other is owned by the City of Whitehorse. This makes us somewhat unique from other Yukon communities.

TOF’s position in the negotiations should be that there must be economic benefit to the Town for entering into such an agreement, otherwise it is to be avoided. Because we are a privately owned landfill, we have the right to limit the use of the facility to users within our municipal boundaries.

For some time, Faro has been accepting MSW from other users by placing the three 6 cubic meter bear proof bins next to our landfill entrance. The taxpayers of Faro in effect have been subsidizing the non-paying property, person, companies, etc. users of our facilities free of charge. The volumes of MSW waste placed in these bins increased dramatically when YG arbitrarily closed the Drury Creek Landfill. YG made no effort to establish a MSW transfer station nor compensate Faro for accepting waste from rural users, most of whom pay taxes to YG, not Faro. This practice must stop. One of the bins will need to be relocated to the Tintina Subdivision, the others moved elsewhere.

The consequences of the recently signed Municipal Solid Waste Management Plan for how we must operate Faro’s landfill brings a much higher operating cost along with it. Should Faro sign off on the MOA to become a regional landfill, of course much higher costs will also follow. Council together with our administration will closely scrutinize the aspects of the agreement to determine if it is in our best interests. Council would like to know your thoughts on this matter. Please let a member of council know how you feel about such an agreement, or better yet, come to a council meeting and engage in a discussion during the public question period.

I Nside T His I Ssue

FEES & CHARGES BYLAW

By Larry Baran, CAO

As a community is created and grows, different fees and charges are established by Council to cover the costs of operations. After 50 years, Faro has a lot of various fees and charges. One problem that Faro has experienced is ‘managing’ those fees and charges. As each bylaw that carries a fee or charge is created, those bylaws should be revisited regularly to ensure that the amounts quoted are appropriate and make sense. Of course, the problem is that it is very easy to miss revisiting one of the many bylaws that Faro has on record.

That is what happened with the Business License Bylaw from 2005 that hadn’t been updated since then, or the Cemetery Bylaw that hasn’t been revisited since the 1980s.

So, what do other communities do to reduce the possibility of missing a review of municipal fees and charges? They create a Fees and Charges Bylaw where ALL municipal fees and charges are centralized and listed in one document. This makes it easier for municipal staff to reference the current charges and for Council to review all service fees each year to ensure that services are invoiced appropriately. Many communities don’t adjust their fees each year to accommodate for inflation, so the community waits for a few years and then authorizes a significant increase (e.g.: $5.00 fee becomes a $10.00 fee) and the community residents complain … and rightly so. However, if each year the service fee was increased by a small percentage (e.g.: $5.00 fee becomes a $5.45 fee), it is much easier for residents to accommodate for that increase.

With Faro Town Council soon having a Fees and Charges Bylaw in place, not only will it be easier for the residents to see what the service fees are, it will also assist experience and it is not unique to Faro.

Council is determining whether a service fee should be adjusted in the coming year.

Digging is difficult and excavator equipment will often result in creating more damage before repairs can be completed because the large chunks of frozen ground can damage the water main pipes as they are being pulled apart and clawed out. A job that might happen relatively quickly in the summer can become a lot harder as frozen ground and cold temperatures take a toll on equipment, underground infrastructure, as well as the staff.

Later in the newsletter, you will read about a new Vactor Truck that the Town is acquiring and there is a reason why the Public Works Department is happy about this acquisition.

By the end of April, the Senior Management Team hopes to have a Fees and Charges Bylaw in place, to make it easier for the public, staff, and Council to have all services fees recorded in one place. And, the new bylaw will be posted on the website for all to see.

W Inter W Ater M Ain B Reaks

Few things are more discouraging to any Public Works Department than discovering a water main leak in the middle of winter. The ground is frozen, but water is bubbling up and creating a frozen ice surface on the roads or surrounding areas. Each year, this is a challenge that all municipalities

Instead of digging a hole with an excavator to expose the water main leak, the Vactor truck acts like a combination pressure washer and vacuum cleaner at the same time, spraying the hole with hot water to melt the frozen ground and sucking up the water & mud. No pounding or clawing at the ground, which risks doing more damage. The vactor truck simply cleans out around pipes, wires, and anything underground so crews can locate the leak problem and fix it.

We are fortunate this year that a water main leak on Dawson Drive will be addressed by a rental vactor truck. That unit was called in for work up at the mine, and the Public Works Department was able to get the crew to stay an extra day to assist us while they are in the area. Fortunately, after the Town’s Vactor truck arrives, problems that used to take several days to resolve will be able to be addressed within hours.