Reply to M. Vanderhoef's Comments of November 9th ~
Monday, November 11, 2013 at 8:10PM November 11th, 2013,
Thank you Marty for your comments on the TIRRA Solid Waste System posted on Saturday Nov 9th. You have brought up some good points that I would like to comment on and perhaps add some clarification.
TIRRA has actually been in the garbage business for many decades. At one point TIRRA operated their own landfill right here on Thetis when transportation wasn’t as simple as it is now. Thankfully the garbage is now taken to Bing’s Creek although it does concern me that from there it is hauled all the way to Washington State (it is a wonder that our garbage doesn’t cost us more that it does).
When TIRRA asked CVRD to put our solid waste funding onto a Thetis parcel tax, yes, the “membership” voted to make this request (the main reason for this request was what I feel was an “erroneous inexactitude”, to use your words, where TIRRA members were VOLUNTARILY paying for a garbage/recycle system, so that anyone, paying or not, could use the it). At THAT point all islanders on the provincial electorate had the opportunity to vote against the proposed parcel tax levy and my understanding is that only one vote was cast against it. It took about 9 months from the time of request for these funds before we received them. TIRRA was faced with some significant cost increases even before the funds were received. This meant that we were already at our spending maximum, which was designed to carry us for 5 years.
In May of 2013 TIRRA made a request to CVRD to raise the budget cap. Yes it was TIRRA members who put this request forward. Again, anyone eligible in the provincial electorate on Thetis could register a vote against raising the cap. Part of that story is told by the following anonymous e-spokes that appeared in early August:
Attention: Thetis Island Property owners
Parcel tax on garbage
CVRD Bylaw 3713 has now passed Third Reading (June 12 2013) and proposes to increase garbage fees from $113.00 to a maximum of $282.49
If property owners wish to view this bylaw, and FORCE a referendum, please see the CVRD link below, and use the "Elector Response Form" link.
http://www.cvrd.bc.ca/index.aspx?NID=1761
I choose to believe that many of the 33 votes cast against this increase were not told the whole story and now indeed a referendum has been forced as the e-spokes article suggests. Obviously TIRRA has no intention of having their Annual Solid Waste budget at $100,000/ in the next 5 years. What it amounts to is a vote of confidence in the Thetis system knowing that those who vote on each annual budget at the October meeting are also willing to pay whatever annual assessment they vote into place.
As chairman of TIRRA I apologize for not getting more information out to people (who may not attend meetings), in the early part of the summer, so as to most likely have avoided the huge effort and expense it is taking to go to referendum. Hindsight. On a positive note, this gives the whole island an opportunity to vote for or against a “made on Thetis” system, or have CVRD take it over, (or perhaps have nothing….. which is not a very realistic option).
The Solid Waste Committee has posted a proposed 6 year budget plan on this Blog site, (refer to the right hand sidebar). Unfortunately the 2014 budget will be higher than normal as we have to stand the cost of the referendum (provincial law), and also raise extra funds for 2015 to cover the gap of delayed funds from CVRD. This puts almost $20,000 extra dollars into our 2014 budget.
If TIRRA is still in the Solid Waste business after the referendum vote, we will be publicly calling for a new recycle hauling contract proposal (the current one expires in January) as well as posting for jobs for site operation. We also plan to move to a controlled site with up-service fees to make the system more economical and fairer. We also plan to track the recycled products we produce to be reassured that our recycling efforts have some validity. I am not aware of any other site in the area that operates as cheaply as Thetis does, even considering the fact that islanders typically give their returnables (bottles/cans) and thus the revenue, to the school. The school does their own sorting and hauling.
In our lengthy discussions with CVRD, we understand we would have two garbage pick ups per month, whereas Thetis will offer 8 opportunities to drop garbage per month. We also understand that the CVRD system would be more expensive than doing it ourselves. You have made reference to other options that were put forward prior to the first parcel tax. I am not aware of these other viable options unless they were variations of our Thetis system. The solid waste committee sees our system as one that will have changes on an ongoing basis especially as regulations change around us. Thetis will always have core issues to deal with whether it is ferries, garbage, Islands Trust etc. I believe the vast majority of Thetis residents want to keep our island clean and tidy. Somehow we have to stand together for the benefit of all.
Respectfully,
Ernie hunter
TIRRA chair
250-252-0144
