Water metering project to be complete by 2027
In a unanimous decision, Council has opted to accept a $3.94 million grant offered by the provincial government for the universal installation of water meters in the Village.
Despite a mid-day Monday meeting time, residents turned out in droves with nine showing up in Chambers (including Director of Operations Karl Buhr) and 34 on line, certainly the highest number of attendees at a council meeting in the past year.
Several residents stepped up to the podium to express their support, led by former Mayor Ron McLaughlin, who cautioned Council not to make the "unforced error" of declining this grant. Also speaking in support were residents Gregan Dunn and Scott Ando, former chair of the Infrastructure Committee.
Online, resident Norma Rodgers and former Councillor Norm Barmeier also spoke in favour of the project, with Barmeier reminding Council that the data collected from water metering will make demonstrating Lions Bay's eligibility for other grants easier.
Residents Marek Sredzki and Jan Schneider spoke against accepting the grant, with Sredzki decrying metering as evidence of a "police state", and Schneider calling the grant a form of "Trojan horse" intended to promote increased housing density in the Village. (Full comments from residents can be found on the video now posted HERE).
Resident Ingrid Wray asked members of Council if they would state any objections they might hold to voting to accept the grant. Councillor Neville Abbott and Jaime Cunliffe voiced support for accepting the grant. Both Councillor Michael Broughton and Mayor Ken Berry said the subject required further discussion and debate.
Before the vote was called, Broughton spoke of his "fiduciary duty" to ensure the project is good for the Village. Berry spoke at length of the number of outstanding projects before Council, including the Lions Bay Beach Park Project "that we haven't been able to get over the finish line," and news from Translink that will allow pathways in the Village to be improved. He also noted that the District of North Vancouver, which also suffered the death of a resident when her home was swept away by a landslide, has put all capital projects on hold for two years to deal with the fallout.
Acceptance of the provincial grant required two separate motions: the first indicating acceptance by tomorrow's deadline and the second promising accountability in the delivery of the completed project by the end of March 2027.
Council also passed Broughton's motion to purchase metering equipment from Canadian manufacturers whenever possible, in light of the recent imposition of U.S. tariffs.
Today's decision was made under a special deadline extension that allowed the matter to be decided in an open meeting. According to Buhr's report (page four of the agenda package HERE), Council was unable to reach a decision at the closed meeting on March 18.
Buhr, who has steered this project from the very beginning, was present for the vote, but did not speak. His recommendation that Council accept the grant came along with a report noting that the recommendation for metering has the support of both the Infrastructure and Climate Action committees.
Throughout his tenure as DO, Buhr has strongly advocated for water conservation in the Village. In addition to spearheading the grant application process for this project, under Buhr's supervision Public Works has identified and repaired dozens of leaks in the aging infrastructure of the Village, dropping water usage from 800,000 gallons per day to 300,000 in the first six months of last year.
He also proposed and delivered the Alberta Supply Augmentation Project (ASAP), which allowed for the redirection of previously untapped water from Alberta Creek, adding a third watershed to the community's resources.
Buhr's announcement in Friday's Village Update caused something of a grassroots surge in the Village over the weekend, with The Watershed fielding dozens of calls and texts from concerned residents. Many of the speakers in favour of metering thanked Buhr for his efforts, including both Cunliffe and Abbott.
Further information on the process within the Village is expected in upcoming months, but in the meantime, many local municipalities in the province have already implemented water metering. The City of Vancouver's residential water meter information page can be found HERE, and the Sunshine Coast Regional District's page is HERE. West Vancouver offers their residents a brochure on water metering HERE.
Immediate reaction to the vote appears to be generally positive. After the meeting, former Mayor Ron McLaughin said acceptance of the grant is "an unbelievable financial and strategic infrastructure windfall for the community", and former mayor Douglas Miller called the vote to accept the grant a "giant step forward for the Village."
As to next steps, Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell said that as of 3 p.m. this afternoon, the contribution agreement has already been signed and sent to the Province. He added that as the administrative elements of the process go ahead, residents will be provided with regular updates.
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What a fantastic outcome! I hope we can keep moving the needle on good ideas and continue to fortify our community infrastructure.
Thank You Karen Dyer and the Lions Bay Watershed!
Thank you for being a local diligent journalist who gets to the facts and maintains journalistic ethics. Your documentation of this municipality’s highs and lows has been a trusted place to get the facts.
This positive outcome would not have been possible without the high level of public participation that has been on display in the village the past few days.
My sincere thanks go out to Karl Buhr, The Watershed, and to the many residents who contacted council to support this project.
I love democracy!
Thank you for this summation, as I unfortunately was unable to attend due to prior commitments.
I am pleased it passed and had such strong support from our residents!