More on Water Treatment in Nanaimo

More links to storys and letters below as well as to the City of Nanaimo's Water information page. Just sent the following letter to the editor in;

Okay, so it would appear that the City of Nanaimo will likely be forced by VIHA, a.k.a. the province, to move forward with a Water Treatment facility. If in fact this is a given, and it is provincially mandated, then shouldn't the Province contribute at a minimum one third of the costs?

Despite what Councillor Holdom and Mayor Ruttan say, a referendum on the long term borrowing of over 20 million dollars by the taxpayers of Nanaimo is necessary and steamrolling borrowing through by the Alternate Approval process is not an option. Why is a referendum necessary? For the simple fact that it gives all voting citizens the right to choose if borrowing is the best way to pay for the treatment plant.

Reserve funds in City coffers certainly exist and if also taken from other department streams should be able to pay for this without borrowing. Instead of putting 16 million to a new City Hall Annex, used by a few hundred employees, put that money towards the treatment plant which serves our over 80,000 citizens.

The point I am trying to make is let the citizens decide through referendum whether we borrow. If they say no then look at other options and get it done. After all 60,000 voters must carry some weight with the provincial and federal government and they would certainly carry weight municipally.

Letters D/N:

Dr. Murray Fyfe, The Daily News
Published: Friday, June 24, 2011
Water quality rules apply to entire province

By Dan Appell, The Daily News June 23, 2011
First save the money then build the plant

Editorial:

The Daily News
Published: Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Water project referendum is just absurd

News Storys:

Council must comply with regulations
Derek Spalding, The Daily News
Published: Friday, June 24, 2011
Nanaimo drinking water may not be as safe as people think

Pair absent from decision to approve public vote on borrowing $22.5 million want to reconsider decision
Derek Spalding, The Daily News
Published: Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Councillor condemns water referendum as nonsensical

Water treatment plant makes up biggest chunk of Nanaimo's construction costs

By Derek Spalding, The Daily News June 21, 2011
New buildings will cost city 85 million
This story seems to be inaccessible through the daily news website so any comments made cannot be seem.

City of Nanaimo – Water Treatment info
http://www.nanaimo.ca/EN/main/departments/Engineering-Public-Works/13038/WaterQualityTreatment.html