At a Regional District of Nanaimo, or RDN, board meeting on Tuesday, March 13, directors voted to defer a motion that would have seen a four per cent increase to curbside collection utility fees.
Curbside garbage and recycling pick up is mandatory for all residential properties containing up to four dwelling units in the RDN. This service is also optional for eligible bare land strata and townhouse complexes.
A report by the RDN, said currently approximately 30,000 households fall into the service area.
At the meeting, manager of water services for the RDN, Murray Walters explained the annual curbside utility fee is analyzed for accuracy and cost recovery and then adjusted accordingly every year.
The fees would increase by four per cent, with three per cent of it due to inflation and one per cent for the increased operating costs of the expanded organics program, which will permit yard waste to be put into the bins.
The cart exchange fee would also increase from $50 to $75 for garbage carts while recycling carts would be free.
Leanne Salter, director for Electoral Area F, asked if there were going to be any changes to the service with the increase in costs.
“How is it going to be more effective and efficient–I think it already is–by increasing the utility fee costs,” Salter said.
Solid waste planner, Sonam Bajwa, explained the increased costs are associated with contracted costs.
“So there are certain increases that we have that are related to inflation costs and just the cost of running the contract year over year, and that's why there is a three per cent increase,” Bajwa said. “So the program itself isn't necessarily changing, we will have the additional communication pieces that are associated with the expansion of the yard waste program, but the service, as our residents know, it isn't going to change.”
Salter said she is also worried about all the additional costs associated with additional cart pick-ups or if a cart goes missing.
“If that cart is stolen or damaged due to negligence of the owner, there'll be another fee, which is a $50 per visit fee,” Salter said. “So I kind of think that's a bit high because unless the owner drove over it themselves, other than that, if someone steals your cart, it's probably not something you were hoping for already.”
Salter asked if there is a way to remove the cart exchange costs.
“We're already increasing the cost of picking up the garbage, they visit once every two weeks. Why? So this $75 charge seems rather onerous to me,” she said.
Walters said the additional exchange fees are on a cost recovery basis. However, he adds cart fees are not his area of expertise, and the person who has that area of expertise was home sick.
Those planning on using trailers or RVs in the Comox Valley might have to replan where they dump their blackwater and greywater this summer.
At a Courtenay city council meeting on March 13, Kris La Rose, senior manager of water/wastewater services for the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) spoke to council about the increasing need for a new sani-dump system.
Currently, the closest sani-dump system, where trailer and RV owners can dump their greywater and blackwater into a sanitary sewer system, is in Cumberland.
But that site is set to close before this summer, as Cumberland council voted to close it after hearing it had been taking on more use than it was designed for.
In the presentation, La Rose explained this has been something that they have been looking into since 2020. A sewage commission for the district spent time looking into some of the challenges of operating a sani-dump system in the area.
“Many RVs are pretty enormous and they're often used and looking to empty their tanks around the same time at the end of busy weeks in the summer or long weekends,” La Rose said. “That can add up to a fair bit of congestion.”
He said early last year, they raised the idea of incentivizing those in the private sector to fill the need to manage a system, but by the end of the year, the commission received unenthusiastic responses from potential sites.
La Rose said one promising location was found at Dove Creek Place.
“So the Dove Creek Place location actually came up and wasn't identified in that original search by municipal staff and it was actually identified by a member of the public last year,” he said.
He said the spot is convenient for people to access from both highways and through Comox and Courtenay.
Some of the due diligence of note for the location would be the impacts on the nearby Comox Valley Exhibition Grounds and neighbouring homes.
He also said if this space is chosen, two different permits could be needed that could impact the timeline for getting the system running.
La Rose said the sewage commission has asked Courtenay city council to have their city staff help the district with due diligence on the location, as well as to support in looking for potential temporary sites if the site is unable to open.
“Temporary sites that can be used to help fill the gap this year and minimize the risk of illegal dumping in our ditches,” he said.
After the presentation, Councillor Will Cole-Hamilton asked La Rose if he had heard that Courtenay city staff did not have the capacity in the short timeline.
La Rose said he has heard from city staff their concerns about their capacity, but he said the committee is willing to do all the heavy lifting on items needed to get the system running.
“So from a capacity perspective, at CVRD, and I think as I mentioned, barring the requirement for two of those potential permits, this type of facility of this type and simplicity could be delivered very, very quickly,” he said. “t's more about the process and the level of due diligence that's required.”
Councillor Melanie McCollum asked who would be responsible for covering the costs of the discarded waste into the sewer system.
La Rose explained he is unsure as they have not reached that stage in the process yet.
Councillor Wendy Morin commented that there may be concerns with residents who do not want to be taxed for the sewer and water usage of the sani-dump system if they will not be the ones using it.
“I know, Cumberland when they put in the water for cleaning mountain bikes, even though that was through a grant and it doesn't come out of taxpayer funds,” Morin said. “I know a lot of the residents were quite upset that they were paying for the water to wash people's bikes. So there could potentially be you know, that kind of feedback from Courtney residents with with this idea”
Council moved a motion that the city would cooperate with the Comox Valley Regional District on the proposed Dove Creek Place sani-dump as staff capacity allows.
The motion passed unanimously.