2008 has arrived and as we say good bye to 2007 it is time to review some important events from 2007.In a spirit of emphasizing the positive I decided to present those events in a positive perspective, always highlighting the positive. Some of these positive successes are following.
Mayor Corner succeeded in turning Coldstream residents against each other during a referendum campaign. Ultimately the referendum resulted in a great success for the ratepayers of Coldstream. It was a sound reaffirmation of the values we place on our agricultural land.
Politicians succeeded in further increasing our water rates to $.76/cu m from $.72/cu m. At the same time they successfully maintained the same quality water for everyone but Vernon customers as we enjoyed when water was sold at $.35/cu m. We keep paying more and enjoying it less!
Another success story associated with water is that one of these days we might have a new water treatment plant at Duteau Creek. The positive here is that even after the plant is operational the resulting water quality will be still inferior to the water supply from Kal Lake. In fact, customers residing on West Swan Lake properties will enjoy the excellent quality water from Goose Lake for some time longer. No firm plan is in place yet to resolve the water quality issues there. (At this time it’s worth contemplating what happened to the many millions of dollars Greater Vernon Water collected since 2002. They only borrowed $13 million to date which would require an annual repayment of about $1 million from 2006 on. Where did the rest go?!).
Sewer customers in Coldstream were successful in losing $625,000 from their Sewer Reserve Fund for extending the sewer trunk line from McClounie to Aberdeen Road. In addition they successfully parted with an additional $264,000 from their sewer operating fund for purchasing the latecomer fees from Coldstream Meadows. Of course, the greatest success was achieved by the owners of Coldstream Meadows as they received a brand new sewer connection for peanuts. This success resulted in great savings for prospective customers as they can now purchase bungalows at the development anywhere from a mere $279,000 to a reasonable $495,000. Further elucidation of these sewer success stories will follow in subsequent articles.
Council successfully ignored repeated request to modernize sewer rates. They believe that it is fair that a single person on sewer should pay the same $540 (soon to be increased to $568) as a family of five or six. Since five of the seven Councillors are not affected by sewer rates this success will leave them unaffected.
Greater Vernon Services succeeded in establishing a totally dysfunctional organization under the leadership of Chair Corner. The whole governance issue is in shambles and participants want to get out of various functions. This great achievement was recognized by NORD and rewarded by huge wage increases for municipal Directors (about 300% increases). At least we know that our significant contribution to NORD is spent wisely (an average home in Coldstream valued at $400,458 contributes $572 in taxes to NORD).
I am sure we could come up with even more success stories but for now this will suffice. Next we will examine future potential successes, such as the near 10% potential tax increases and other delectable items. For now I say good night and hope that you will enjoy your first working day of 2008. Don’t forget to date your cheques properly when you pay your fees at the Municipal Hall!
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