Former mayor denies deceiving Landing residents

By Vernon Daily Courier staff http://www.dailycourier.ca/index.php Mon June 25

Former Vernon mayor Wayne McGrath has taken issue with comments made by Coun. Pat Cochrane and Okanagan Landing resident Alan Hill which were printed in the Vernon Daily Courier last Wednesday. “I think Pat Cochrane’s comments were inappropriate,” said McGrath, “He admits he has no knowledge of this letter but he says I’ve misled people.” The article highlighted the disagreement between the city and residents of Okanagan Landing over which party was responsible for the costs to connect to the sewer line. In the article, Alan Hill quoted a letter from McGrath addressed to Okanagan Landing residents in which the former mayor is alleged to promise that Okanagan Landing residents would be able to connect to the sewer system at no cost. Cochrane also blamed McGrath for the confusion regarding the responsibility of connection costs, saying that “it seems that Mr. McGrath encouraged people to believe that there would be no cost.”

A copy of the letter in question, dated March 29, 1993, states that “The City will provide existing Landing residents with access to trunk sewer lines, force mains, lift stations, sewage treatment plant and effluent disposal at no cost.” However, the next sentence holds that residents would be required to pay for the cost of collector lines that “may be required to connect to trunk mains”. McGrath acknowledged that the technical terms used could be misleading to a layperson but also said that “you can read very clearly that there is a
cost for residents.” McGrath added that existing residents were told they would not have to pay connection fees, but would be responsible for paying for the sewer lines that would connect their house to the main “trunk” line.

McGrath admitted that “all documents are relatively silent on who pays for the line from the individual homes to the main line”, but that it was made clear that residents would pick up the tab.While McGrath defended the honesty of his council, he was quick to point out that he felt it was unfair that Landing residents are currently required to purchase pump equipment – that could cost as much as $15,000 – if they want to join the line. “We never envisioned people would have to put in grinder pumps,” said McGrath, noting that the original sewer plan was changed after the Outback development “leapfrogged” existing sewer systems, requiring city planners to change the type of pump that would drive the system.