The Hagensborg Water District held its inaugural meeting this past Thursday, June 1st at 7:00 in the fire hall. In attendance were newly elected trustees John Breffitt and Diane Skelly, incumbent trustees Jeremy Baillie, Chris Matthews and new Chairperson, Kevin O’Neill. Also in attendance were Chief Financial Officer Wes Abel and newly hired Chief Administrative Officer Joy Mackay.
Trustees got down to business immediately discussing Chairman O’Neill’s proposal of moving meeting times to the evening, to allow for greater attendance and participation by the public. Trustees agreed and will do their best to determine a monthly, regular weeknight that works best for all trustees.
Trustees then discussed the survey originally presented at the March 30/17 public meeting on water treatment and the termination of the POE project was first on the list of priorities for moving forward by the rate payers. Trustees discussed the relatively small number of rate payer surveys that had been completed and the need to better optimize the District’s website. Trustee Breffitt detailed his experience in this area and offered to be of assistance in this regard.
Similar to a motion defeated at the AGM, a motion to terminate the Point of Entry project was postponed. At this time, not all trustees felt comfortable until the opportunity to have a face-to-face meeting between Phil Muirhead from Vancouver Coastal Health Inspections and the Board of Trustees could occur. As such, the CAO, Joy Mackay, was asked to contact Mr. Muirhead and invite him to a meeting with the Board of Trustees at his earliest convenience.
Next on the agenda was a discussion regarding a moratorium on the Parcel Tax Surcharge. Chair O’Neill opened the discussion on the matter of the Parcel Tax Surcharge, stating that he would like to see it eliminated this year, to give rate payers some much needed financial relief. Trustees discussed the need for taxation to upgrade/replace the entire delivery system, versus the benefits to rate payers of a moratorium. Trustees noted that a motion made at the AGM, to immediately discontinue the parcel tax, had failed and this motion was defeated for the time being.
A motion to have the CAO pursue grant funding to undertake a study on the question of possible conversion of the HWD to a Central Coast Regional District service was carried and the CAO was further asked to make available to trustees, previously completed report(s) on the question of connecting to the Nuxalk Nation system.
Newly elected and incumbent trustees agreed that a tour of the waterworks system would be a good idea for all trustees and agreed to undertake this later this month. The next regular board meeting will be June 22, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Fire Hall.