Council approves dredging

The dredging of Green Bay will go ahead as long as a majority of property owners approve the expenditure.

The latest hurdle in the dredging of the bay was cleared Tuesday when West Kelowna city council threw its support behind the plan.

Residents of the Green Bay neighbourhood have asked for the dredging work to take place to improve the navigable channel for safe boat access.

They say the bay has become too shallow for safe boat navigation during periods of low water and during the boating shoulder seasons.

City engineering manager Rob Hillis says the estimated cost of the project including design and the dredging itself is $950,000.

“That is the amount the residents will be petitioned on,” Hillis told council.

“Hopefully it is a conservative amount. We are hoping to be conservative and return some funds back to the residents.”

While there are 40 parcels within the local service area, Hillis says one of those is an access to the water so there is no legal title.

The city does own one of the remaining 39 parcels.

If the project goes ahead, each of the 39 property owners would be on the hook for about $24,300.

The monies would be paid as part of a parcel tax included with the yearly tax bill for the length of the loan, expected to be 20 years.

“The final step in the process is the petition period,” says Hillis.

“Residents will be provided with a petition for the parameters of the work for phase two.

In order to go ahead, the petition would require 50 per cent of the property owners accounting for at least 50 per cent of the total property value.

Staff expect to return to council at the end of January.