Prince Rupert City Council members will consider the recommendation to make use of the Alternative Approval Process tonight, that as they look to move forward with two Loan requests for major infrastructure in the community.
The call for the AAP comes as part of the City's work on the Woodworth Dam Replacement project and that of their new solid waste intake cell at the Ridley Island Landfill Site.
The estimated cost of the Woodworth Dam loan, projects up to 10 million dollars will be required to complete the project which is expected to be finished in 2021.
The repayment of the loan is to be facilitated through dividends from Prince Rupert Legacy Incorporated financial instruments.
The loan for the Ridley Island Solid Waste cell is required in order to finance the engineering, design, construction and activation of the new cell, which is expected to be in operation by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
Repayment of the potential 10 million dollar loan has been build into the existing fees for land fill services and is estimated to cost $570,000 annually.
The use of the Alternative Approval Process has become a signature default position for the curren City Council and that of the previous one, having used the process a number of times prior on a range of initiatives.
That process puts the onus on the public to provide for its opposition to borrowing that Council would like to take on.
In order to force Council to reconsider their plans, or to hold a full referendum on the prospect, 1,077 residents will have to fill out the forms to express their wishes and deliver them to Prince Rupert City Hall by 4:30 PM on July 24th.
Council members will review the requests tonight and offer up their thoughts on the use of the AAP towards the two projects, charting the course forward perhaps by the end of this evening's session.
Council laid the groundwork for tonight's adoption of the measures back in March, when Mayor Lee Brain recommended the use of the AAP, at that time the City's Financial Officer Corinne Bomben outlined the difference for the options available to Council.
"A referendum requires a question to be voted on with a simple majority deciding. Voting eligibility is the same for voting at a municipal election with the cost associated for the referendum being similar at around 35,000 dollars, voting day needs to occur within eighty days of provincial approval of the bylaws.
The Alternate Approval Process requires a public notification of the intent to borrow funds and a time period for voting members of the community to state their opposition. The process takes six weeks from first public notification, if more than 10 percent of eligible voters state their opposition then the matter proceeds to a referendum. The cost of the Alternate Approval process is estimated at 7,000 dollars"-- City of Prince Rupert CFO Corinne Bomben, explaining the two options for consulting the public on two required infrastructure loans.
You can review the full volume of information related to the AAP and the City's twin loan requests from the Agenda for tonights Council session.
More background on the two projects that Council is looking to take the loans out for can be reviewed as part of Major Infrastructure Archive pages.
For more notes on tonights Prince Rupert City Council session see our Preview here.
More notes on past City Council discussion themes can be reviewed here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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