Sunday, September 7, 2008

Items Council will be discussing in-camera.

Upon completing the regular Council meeting the meeting generally move into an in-camera session. They indicate which Charter items cover the meeting but the actual items are not revealed.

To inform those who wish to get a bit more information I quote the actual in-camera items as described by the Charter. These items will form tomorrow's in-camera discussions.

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I am also including the text of my presentation for tomorrow night's meeting regarding questions about the Master Water Plan. It has been over six years since we have been paying increasing water rates and most of us have not seen any improvement yet this Council is almost at the end of their term. If you are interested in the answers (hopefully we get some) please attend.

Your attendance will also indicate your support for the Fire Chief and the volunteer firemen even though we cannot speak on the issue. Some residents indicated that they might demonstrate in front of the meeting hall.

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90 (1)

(c) labour relations or other employee relations;

(e) the acquisition, disposition or expropriation of land or improvements, if the council considers that disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality;

(i) the receipt of advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose;

(k) negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stages and that, in the view of the council, could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality if they were held in public;

(m) a matter that, under another enactment, is such that the public may be excluded from the meeting;
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Presentation to Council:

Your Worship, members of Council.

Six and a half years ago the Greater Vernon Services Commission (GVSC), Greater Vernon Water (GVW) and the Master Water Plan (MWP) were born with great fanfare.

Four members of this Council were among the progenitors of these creatures.

Today the great promises are in shambles. GVSC is no more. GVW is gone with the dodo. The promises of the MWP are only visible in Vernon.

During the last election campaign water issues were front and center and all candidates promised to make sure water related issues would be addressed and solved. It seems that did not happen.

I wonder if Mayor Corner, as Chair of the emasculated Greater Vernon Services Committee could provide some information about the services that were promised
six and a half years ago.

My specific questions are as follows:

1. What is the present status of GVSC?
2. What happened to the governance?
3. How much money is in reserves?
4. How will these monies divided among the former participants? Coldstream taxpayers have given much and received nothing. Are we getting our money back?
5. How much money was borrowed to date? How much of that was spent in Coldstream?
6. Time is money. How much will the new treatment plant cost now that years went by since the original estimates were developed?
7. What is the future of GVW?
8. What will happen to the water licenses? Coldstream and NORD contributed significant water licenses on Kal Lake. Vernon had exceeded its license before GVW was formed. Are they going to buy their water from the new whatever bulk water supplier will supplant GVW? At what rate?
9. Given the above facts would you consider the GVSC a success?
10. How much money was wasted on the exercise (a bull park figure would suffice)?
11. Councillor Malerby provided an optimistic review of the MWP at one of the Ratepayers’ meeting. Does she still have the same faith in the Plan?
12. What happened to the motion of March 22, 2007, namely “THAT GVSC support the idea of taxation as a means of funding capital costs of water improvements and that GVSC support block billing as a means of water conservation.” It was deferred to April 18, 2007 but I have no idea what happened to it. Without that decision high priced properties on the Rise, Turtle Mountain and elsewhere do not contribute to the infrastructure costs.

Promises before elections are great but eventually those who pay the bills wish to have answers why those promises remained unfulfilled. They also demand apologies for having been mislead by their politicians and by their employees (in this case employees in GVW).

Hope is eternal and I hope that at least some of the questions I presented could be answered satisfactorily by your Worship and/or staff.

Gyula Kiss

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Coldstream Ratepayers News! All Coldstream residents are ratepayers!

The opinions expressed by "Coldstreamer" are strictly his own and do not represent the opinions of Coldstream Council!

Because I value your thoughtful opinions, I encourage you to add a comment to this discussion. Don't be offended if I edit your comments for clarity or to keep out questionable matters, however, and I may even delete off-topic comments.

Gyula Kiss
coldstreamer@shaw.ca;

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About Me

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I have been a resident of Coldstream since 1976. I have had 15 years of experience on Council, 3 years as Mayor. As a current Councillor I am working to achieve fair water and sewer rates and to ensure that taxpayers get fair treatment. The current direction regarding water supply is unsustainable and I am doing all I can to get the most cost effective water supply possible.