Sewer extension set for Landing

by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star posted Apr 15, 2016 at 1:00 AM
Sewer lines could ultimately snake their way deeper into Okanagan Landing. The City of Vernon will pursue a federal/provincial grant to extend the sewer service into four areas of the Landing. “There are 1,000 homes in the city not on sewer and this would go a long way to addressing this situation,” said Coun. Juliette Cunningham of the grant. The total project cost for the 3.7 kilometres of pipe is $3.7 million and the city would also have to contribute funds if the government grant is approved. “Funding from the New Building Canada Fund-Small Communities Fund would lower the overall cost of servicing these neighbourhoods, and improve the likelihood of future local service area type sanitary sewer extensions to these priority areas,” said Greg Thompson, municipal technician, in a memo. “If the city’s application for funding is successful, the intent would be to pursue local area service projects for these neighbourhoods concurrent with the proposed grant project.” The areas being targeted by the city for sewer extension include the Claremont subdivision, Cameo Road, Crosby Road and Dallas Road. The lack of sewer has been a concern for many residents since Okanagan Landing joined the city in 1993.

Mabel Lake sewer costly

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: June 09, 2013 1:00 AM Accessing water and sewer could be a costly proposition for residents of one Kingfisher neighbourhood. The Regional District of North Okanagan will hold a petition process to determine if North Lakeshore property owners are willing to pay for the extension of sewer and water lines from the Mabel Lake utility. “There are people avid they want it and people adamant they don’t want to pay for it,” said director Jackie Pearase. Presently, North Lakeshore properties are served by private shallow water intakes in Mabel Lake and they do not meet Canadian drinking water guidelines. In terms of effluent, it’s believed some properties may have failing septic systems and the sewer service is close at hand. However, there would be a price to pay for extending both services. The estimated cost to construct water main extensions is $691,000, meaning there would be a per property capital cost of $22,290. For sewer, the total price tag is $2,675,882, which translates into a per property capital cost of $19,532 and a connection fee of $1,600. In total there are 31 properties that would get water and 137 properties that would get sewer. Pearase admits the financial impact on residents could be steep but she believes sewer is essential to protect Mabel Lake. “This is at least the second time this (proposal) has been done and it failed then. I hope people’s appreciation of the environment has increased,” she said. Pearase also believes sewer connections could have a positive financial benefit. “The difference between an outhouse and an indoor toilet is a big selling point for someone’s property value,” she said. If the petition processes are successful, construction could be done in the fall of 2013 or the spring of 2014.

Local Area Services

  Under the Community Charter, a municipality may provide a service within a part of the municipality. Such a service is known as a “local area service”, and the area within which the service is provided is known as a “local service area.” Municipalities may recover all or part of the cost of a local area service by levying local service taxes against the properties located within the boundaries of the local service area. A local service tax may be a property value tax, a parcel tax or both.

The approval of the property owners or electors within the proposed local service area is required and there are three methods that can be used:

1. A petition signed by at least 50% of the owners of properties representing at least 50% of the assessed value of land and improvements that will be subject to the local service tax,
2. Council initiative, as long as 50% of the owners of properties representing at least 50% of the assessed value of land and improvements that will be subject to the local service tax do not petition against establishment of the local area service, or
3. A referendum voted upon by the electors in the proposed local service area.