More than 8,200 property owners will soon receive a package with information on how the City of West Kelowna plans to finance the future Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant (RVWTP).
The city said the package will include information on long-term borrowing to design and finance the plant, which is the plan the city recommends.
But if there are enough petitions against it, the city is prepared to consider short-term borrowing.
Should enough residents opt for long-term borrowing, RVWTP users will see an increase of $34, plus the $116 per year that property owners currently pay. The total $150 will go towards designing, building and financing the water treatment plans would remain the same during the 25-year borrowing period.
In 2022, the $150 fee will be shifted from water bills onto a parcel tax, which allows some residents to defer their taxes. If residents prefer to pay a lump sum instead of long-term borrowing in 2022, they can pay a one-time payment of $2,815.
Once residents receive the information package, they have until Oct. 2 to let the city know if they don’t agree with the financing plan or not.
“If users agree with long-term borrowing, they do nothing,” the city said in a release.
“The city will contact them in 2022. Any who oppose long-term borrowing must complete the petition against form and submit it to the city in person or by mail no later than 4 p.m., Oct. 2, 2020.”
The information package will affect RVWTP property owners in the Lakeview-Rose Valley, Pritchard, Sunnyside and West Kelowna Estates water systems, and not in the Powers Creek or Westbank First Nation service areas.
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