Aquatic Centre Reserve Fund Established

The Board adopted Nicola Valley Aquatic Centre Capital Reserve Fund Establishment Bylaw No. 2511, 2016, that will allow the TNRD to set aside funds for future capital projects for this service.

The City of Merritt owns and operates the Nicola Valley Aquatic Centre (Centre). The TNRD, under the Nicola Valley Aquatic Centre Agreement, has agreed to share in the cost of constructing, maintaining and operating the facility, which services residents of both the City and surrounding areas of the TNRD.

Board Approves Utility Rate Increases

The TNRD completed an analysis of water and sewer rates with along with the projected costs for service delivery over the next five years. Several options were presented to the Utility Systems Committee for consideration, which resulted in the following recommendations that were approved by the Board:

Parcel taxes currently charged to all active parcels within each utility service area (water and sewer) that fund “Other Indirect Costs” will be increased to $15 per parcel per month, effective Jan. 1, 2017.
Parcel taxes charged to all active parcels within each utility service area that exceed actual “Other Indirect Costs” incurred in any given year will be transferred into a Utilities Capital Reserve fund.
Utility user fee rates in each utility service will be increased sufficiently to fund expected direct cost increases over the five-year period from 2017 to 2021, effective Jan. 1 of each year.
The current user fee cap of $100 per month maximum will be indexed for inflation and increased to $125 per month, effective Jan. 1, 2017.

The TNRD will be travelling to each community affected by the rate increases to host public information meetings before the new rates are implemented in 2017.

Fire Protection Boundaries Amended

The Board adopted a bylaw amendment that expands the boundaries of the Area “M” and “N” fire protection service area to include 37 properties in the vicinity of Harmon Estates. The fire protection service is delivered by the City of Merritt fire department and will commence on Jan. 1, 2017.

Zoning Amendment Goes to Public Hearing

Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2575, 2016, was given first and second readings and will be taken to Public Hearing in conjunction with a future regular Board of Directors meeting.
The owner/applicant is looking for support for an application to extend the Quilchena Comprehensive Development Zone Two Sub-Zone A (CD-2A) to an 8-hectare portion of the property and to amend that zone by adding “marina, not including the storage and sale of marine fuel,” enabling creation of a campground and marina. The application was forwarded to the ALC, which supported it on the basis that it would exchange non-farm use approval from another more productive area to less productive lakefront land.

TNRD Recognized For Zero-Emissions Efforts

The Board received a letter from the Green Communities Committee, recognizing the TNRD as a Charter signatory who has achieved Level 1 recognition and additionally completed a corporate carbon inventory for the 2015 reporting year and demonstrated familiarity with the Community Energy and Emissions Inventory.