Funding the downtown facelift
Now that they have a vision for a rejuvenated Broadway Avenue, the village council has to find a way to pay for the $1.9 million makeover. It’s not going to be easy.
So far, the administration has found a few pots of money council can access to pay for the project. Staff brought a report to council on Monday night.
The first is the Gas Tax Fund, which brings in the largest share, about $400,000. They’ll also be taking $93,750 from a Community Works project the village never completed last year, and putting that into the pot. Finally, they’ll be looking for about $50,000 from the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust. That application will go out in the next few weeks.
Council has “other irons in the fire,” Mayor Karen Hamling said, and may hear about more funding for the project. The revitalization program will see new sidewalks, benches, greenery and crosswalks developed along much of the length of Broadway Avenue.
But with less than a quarter of the money needed gathered so far, it’s time for some community consultation. Hamling says she plans to call for a meeting in March to talk about what can be accomplished with the money they have, and what can’t; they’ll ask the public for input on how the project should proceed this spring.
It’s 2018, grab your wallet
Along with the streamers and champagne, the new year brings in new fees and rates for government services. Here’s a few things you’ll have to dip deeper into your pocket for in 2018:
– Sewer rates are going up about five per cent, adding about $20.50 to a single family homeowner’s sewer bill. The average single family home will pay about $430 for sewer service; a large store, like the Overwaitea, pays nearly $1,200 annually. It’s part of a long-term council plan to get its reserves for water and sewer system maintenance up to financially-recommended levels. On the plus side, taxpayers are getting a break on their water rates. They were supposed to go up 10 per cent as well this year. However, a budget windfall reported last month, where a water main project came in about a half million dollars under budget, means council won’t have to boost water rates this year.
– It’s going to cost $95, or about five dollars more, to visit the Nakusp landfill with a tonne of mixed waste. Note, however, this is a fee set by the Regional District of Central Kootenay, and not the Village.
– It’s going to cost about five per cent more to visit the hot springs, stay at the cabins there or rent a campsite. The administration says inflationary costs, including the recent CUPE wage increase, is forcing the parks departments’ hand in order to keep the facility revenue-neutral and unsupported by taxes. A single adult pass will now cost $10.50, up 50 cents. A tenting site will go up $1, to $20.50, while the chalets will cost from $6-$10 more, depending which one you rent. Administration says the increase is the first in four years, and its rates are still below other regional hot springs.
Don’t bogart those revenues, my friend
Village council is being asked to join in the fight for municipalities to get a cut of the tax revenues when marijuana’s legalized later this year.
The City of West Kelowna wrote to the village, asking council to support its push for half of the provincial revenues gained from legal pot sales to go to local government.
While the feds and provinces are still haggling over who will get what portion of the revenues, municipalities say they’ve been left out of the discussion.
West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater say it’s only fair for municipalities to get a cut of the grass cash.
“Ultimately, the legalization will entail additional costs for the regional governments, both in social and policing costs,” Findlater states. “A [Federation of Canadian Municipalities] paper is stating that the impact on regional governments may affect policing, fire services, building codes, city planning, municipal licensing and standards, public health, social services, communications, law etc.”
Findlater says a fair distribution would be similar to the way the province shares traffic fine revenues with municipalities.
The Village council received the letter as information.
No council later this month
With the mayor and deputy-mayor away later this month, the January 22nd meeting of council has been cancelled.
UPDATE: Clarification on the landfill fee increase coming from the Regional District, and not the Village.
