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South Okanagan Photos

Mayor says “we may have to do it ourselves” – funding in jeopardy

Project cost $11.5 million

Provincial grant $5 million

Help from Liberal government in Ottawa: zilch

Report from CFO Doug Leahy to Oliver Town Council on cost of borrowing if the Water Utility borrowed 5.5 million dollars and proceeded in 2020 to complete the Gallagher Lake syphon project (which means redirected the canal water north of Country Pines MHP into a large pipe on the highway and diverting all water around the cliffs.

Rates to all water Utility Users – rural and domestic and water parcel taxes would rise by 10% to fund the payments to the MFA for $5.5 million dollars.

Mayor Martin Johansen, when asked by a ratepayer, at Monday’s meeting said:

a. we have a lot of irons in the fire

b. we have met with everyone interested in hearing our plea

c. application for many millions in disaster relief filed in Ottawa

d. Oliver must confirm conditions of the $5 million grant from BC government

e. Oliver must contemplate  ‘going it alone’  without federal support

f.  If no federal funding approval prior to election (June or July) – the message would be clear

 

The Town of Oliver has applied to the Federal Government’s Disaster Mitigation & Adaptation Fund for the project cost of $22.3M.

If approved this project will require a maximum $8.38M contribution from the Town of Oliver. The Mayor has recently met with Mr. Stephen Fuhr, Member of Parliament for Kelowna-Lake Country to ascertain the status of the funding request from the Federal Government. To date there has not been any indication that federal funding will be forthcoming. The Provincial Government has committed $5M towards the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the irrigation canal that was damaged by the rock slide in 2016. This commitment was made by the previous government. Unless an action plan including design and construction is undertaken in short order the likelihood of the $5M commitment remaining in place is in jeopardy.

The project is anticipated to commence in late 2019 and complete in 2023/2024. During 2019-2020 it is projected that the bulk of the construction will take place. The Town can utilize short term financing (Section 181 of Community Charter) from the Municipal Finance Authority (MFA) during the construction phase of the contract.