West Kelowna

Westside landowners scheduled to receive sewer service over the next six years got a break from the municipality.

A week ago council decided to go ahead with the entire sewer extension project, despite the fact government grants would be a lot lower than originally anticipated.

It was anticipated the municipality would be in line to receive up to $15 million in grants. Westside learned that figure would be closer to $6 million.

Going ahead with the entire project in one grant application meant each landowner would pay more that $12,500 for the service, not including the cost of hooking up to the sewer system.

Tuesday, council amended that decision at the urging of Mayor Rosalind Neis.

"Subsequent to our council, I had a conversation with the province and new information has come forward. The Premier's address on Wednesday in regards to infrastructure and the province's desire to accelerate programs for local governments, I've been assured there will be other programs available for funding with regard to our sewer program," says Neis.

She had asked that council commit to funding only the first five phases through the first grant application and wait for further programs before applying for grants to complete the final six phases.

The cost per homeowner in the first five phases would be slightly more than $8,100.

The first five phases, all scheduled to be complete no later than 2010 include:

• Applegreen Crescent and Cameron Road
  
• Glenrosa Phase 2 - Ranch Road/Country Pines
  
• Glenrosa Phase 7 - Pineridge Place
  
• Glenrosa Phase 2 - Thacker North
  
• Lakeview Phase 6 - Hayman Road.

Six other phases in the Lakeview Heights and Glenrosa areas, are scheduled for completion between 2011 and 2014.

Councillor Doug Findlater told council the advice the mayor received, to apply for funding in small chunks, is the same advice he has been given over the past number of years in dealing with senior levels of government.

"If you ask for the moon you won't get it but if you ask for it a bit at a time, you will eventually get the moon, or most of it," says Findlater.

"We may quibble on some of the numbers here but I think we do have to re-consider this. This is a priority in this community. We have to get going on it."

Findlater says he doesn't think landowners will agree to pay more than $12,000 for sewer.

"It has to be made more affordable."

Councillor Duane Ophus, while agreeing to take another look at the funding proposal, says looking for funding in small chunks is exactly what put the Regional District and now the municipality in the position it finds itself in now.

"When the Regional District started this program a number of years ago, they got a certain amount of grant money. What they should have done with that money is they should have spread it across the total number of connections that needed to be done throughout the entire Westside," says Ophus.

"They did not do that, they chose to subsidize exactly what is being proposed here on a staged basis a smaller number of installations, so they could reduce the price of each installation."

Instead of going with the proposal suggested by Neis, Council instead agreed to fund the first eight phases through the current grant application and postpone the final three phases, Hudson Road, McGinnis Road and Gates Road for a future grant application.

With the new proposal, landowners will be asked to pay slightly more than $10,000 for sewer.

Following the meeting, Neis says she was somewhat pleased at the compromise council made.

"I would have liked to see an $8,000 per head parcel because I do firmly believe there will be funding in the future for all phases, and the one they did include is a costly phase, more than $3.5 million, and I feel there could have been an opportunity for those residents to have additional savings, but it's the will of council and at least it is an improvement over what we had last week."