There is some concern that Okanagan Landing residents could be tapped big bucks for sewer. Coun. Patrick Nicol opposed a motion Monday that will see the City of Vernon update and consolidate sewer extension policies for developed areas in the Landing that are currently serviced by septic systems. “I don’t want those on working septic fields funding mandatory sewer connections,” said Nicol. “The costs could drive them off their property.” While there has been a lot of new development in the Landing, Nicol says the city can’t forget that many residents have lived there long before the area was annexed into Vernon in 1993. “These are long-time residents,” he said. “The amount of money to connect to sewer was substantial for these elderly people.”
Currently, sewer extensions to existing developed areas are done through development, local area service projects, municipal fee projects or a combination of these methods. City policy presently allows for a one-third subsidy towards the cost of extending sewer to areas deemed to be an environmental or health concern. “As many of the unsewered areas in Okanagan Landing are experiencing ongoing septic system failures, it is likely that the current subsidy policy will be requested more frequently,” said Greg Thompson, municipal financial technician, in a report. “Instead of rewarding owners who wait for failure to occur, the subsidy policy should be updated to provide incentives for owners to connect to city sewer in a planned and orderly manner prior to mass failures occurring.” With about 1,000 properties not connected to sewer, the cost implications for the city could be significant. “If all of these became local, we’d be looking at $18 million,” said Coun. Bob Spiers. “I’m scared to death of using municipal fees, especially with one-third subsidies.”
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