The last area of the Okanagan water basin that does not have a wastewater treatment facility is a step closer to having one.
Regional District of North Okanagan directors approved establishment and loan authorization bylaws for a North Okanagan Wastewater Recovery Service.
The facility would be built in Spallumcheen, with the township having recently completed a property sale for the project on land on L&A Cross Road, and would cover parts of the township, Okanagan Indian Band and Electoral Areas B and C.
“We’re going to go through a petition process (to borrow funds),” said RDNO board chairperson Bob Fleming. “If the petition is a success, we establish the service.”
A total of 50+1 per cent of the properties need to say yes to the borrowing for the petition to be successful.
Borrowing would be in the amount of $5.2 million. The rest of the funds for the nearly $37 million project would come from grants, including one of nearly $6 million from the Okanagan Basin Water Board.
The Township of Spallumcheen and Okanagan Indian Band would also contribute to the costs.
Rural economic development
RDNO directors are going ahead with establishing a rural economic development service.
The district’s five electoral areas will undergo an alternative approval process. The focus of the service is economic development in the rural areas.
“We’re looking at working on things related to agricultural economics, primarily small-scale processing for meat, dairy processing and so on,” said Fleming.
Electoral area residents will be asked to raise funds through taxation, to the tune of two cents per $1,000 of taxable land for a total of $78,000.
No time frame has been set but the AAP begins 30 days after the establishment of the date for the process.
Conservation fund
Lumby and Armstrong will join the regional district’s five electoral areas in setting up a local conservation fund.
The fund would be used as seed money for area conservation projects.
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“We’re trying to raise some money and generate money for projects on conservation,” said Fleming. “It was offered as a full-regional service where everyone could participate. The electoral areas and Lumby and Armstrong are the only participants but I think everyone sees the value of the fund.”
The money would be raised through taxation, two cents per every $1,000 of taxable land.
Lumby and Armstrong councils must approve the establishment of the fund, as does the Inspector of Municipalities, and voter approval must be established as well.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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