Re: “ ‘Free’ plant an insult, Esquimalt mayor says,” June 19.
The proposed cash offer by the Capital Regional District to cover Esquimalt’s contribution to the core area sewage-treatment plant is not an insult to Esquimalt residents. The proposed cash offer is a bona fide attempt to break the logjam that could otherwise engulf all the participants (including Esquimalt) in hundreds of millions of dollars of extra costs for a treatment plant that we must build as mandated by the federal and provincial governments.
The offer respects Esquimalt council’s desire for amenities as set out in their Bylaw 2806 passed in July 2013.
That bylaw requires the CRD to provide an amenities package (bike paths, public art, traffic enhancements, special construction requirements, etc.) worth close to $19.5 million. The bylaw also contemplates circumstances where cash could replace the amenities package.
The recent CRD proposal is in keeping with the bylaw by offering the cash equivalent of the amenities requested by Esquimalt. The cash will directly benefit residents of Esquimalt — they won’t have to pay to build the plant.
Nils Jensen
Mayor, District of Oak Bay
Director, CRD
