Mayor Ed Mayne believes the Englishman River Water Service (ERWS) water treatment plant is experiencing “growing pains.”
On Wednesday, Feb. 17, Parksville city council unanimously approved the spending of $235,000 for the maintenance of the ERWS water treatment plant, with the expectation that 26 per cent ($87,000) be reimbursed as per the ERWS Joint Ventures Agreement.
The ERWS Joint Venture Agreement was implemented in 2010 between Parksville and the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) with a 74 per cent to 26 per cent cost split, according to a report presented to council during Wednesday’s meeting. The report read that multiple key warranty and infrastructure items must be approved prior to the RDN and city budget approval process. Normally, council would approve the ERWS budget during the city’s regularly scheduled operating and capital budget approval process, however, the RDN board did not approve the budget due to concerns with some items in the proposed financial plan.
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The report read that city staff would continue to work with the ERWS Board to address the items of concern and work towards an approved budget for the ERWS to be presented to both Joint Ventures at a later date.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Coun. Doug O’Brien said that these are “critical timelines that have to be matched” and that he thought it was “prudent to get the recommendations approved right away.”
