Questions/Answers

Q: What happens if a resident can't afford to pay the Capital Charge(s) and/or Legal Fee by the time the petition is due back to the RDN?

A: The RDN would recommend talking to your personal bank in order to obtain the funds necessary to cover these costs.

Q: If the project is funded through RDN borrowing, what happens to the outstanding amount if the property is sold?

A: The amortized payments are obtained via parcel tax, therefore, if the property is sold, the new owners would take over the payments.

Q: For those residents who have the option of sub-dividing and connecting to the sewer main on the Wembley Road side of their property, does the additional Capital Charge or Covenant still apply?

A: Yes. Whether connecting to the Reid Road side or the Wembley Road side, the additional Capital Charge still applies since the property would be connecting to the same sewage collection and sewage treatment areas.

Q: Are two manholes required for the sewer main extension?

A: The RDN requires that manholes are placed at the upstream end of every sewer line, at every change in direction, and that the maximum distance between manholes does not exceed 120m. The preliminary sewer main drawings indicate both a change in direction and a distance exceeding 120m; therefore, based on the preliminary drawings, two manholes are required.

Q: How does a petition pass/fail?

A: The petitioning process would succeed if at least 50% of the property owners return a valid signed petition, AND if the value of the valid petitions makes up at least 50% of the assessed values of the properties being petitioned.

Q: What is the process; petition/board approvals/public meetings etc.?

A: Once the petitioning date has passed, the petitions are validated and tallied. If the necessary majority is met, a report is presented to the RDN Board of Directors indicating the level of support along with a recommendation on whether to proceed or not. If the recommendation is to proceed, and the Board has no objections, then an establishing bylaw and borrowing bylaw are given 3 readings and sent to the Inspector of Municipalities (IOM) in Victoria for senior government review/approval. If the IOM approves the bylaw(s) the Board can then give final reading and adoption of the bylaws. Once this has happened, staff can proceed with appointing an engineer to undertake the site surveys and design/tendering of the project. If the tendering (public bid) is within budget, the project is awarded and construction of the system can begin.

Q: Do I still pay if I don't want sewer and the petition passes?

A: Yes, if the majority of the property owners within the defined service area agree to the construction, then all properties within the petitioned area pay for the cost of the sewer installation.

Q: Are there contingencies built into the cost?

A: Yes, there is 25% contingency built into the estimate.

Q: What happens if this project is built and it comes in under budget?

A: Costs to the residents will reflect the actual cost to complete the project. If the project comes in lower than estimated, than your costs are lower as well.

Q: What happens if the final construction cost is higher than what is being estimated?

A: Detailed (final) engineering design is completed once we have a commitment to proceed from the residents (i.e. they have signed a petition). We then get tendered prices for the work. If construction costs come in higher than what was spelled out in the petition then we must go back to you, the participating residents, and get approval before we can proceed.

Q: How is the system financed?

A: The RDN would borrow the money through the Municipal Finance Authority (MFA) at the market rates available at the time of borrowing. The rate used currently for estimating costs of this project is 5%, but may be lower or higher depending on whether long term borrowing rates change before the actual borrowing is completed. The rate is fixed for 10 years at a time although the borrowing will likely be amortized over 20 years. The rate for the second 10 year period is set when the debt is renewed at the end of the first 10 years. Recent borrowing from the MFA for another project was at 2.7%.

Q: How do we then pay for the project?

A: The RDN would provide two options to residents for payment. Payment could be added to each owner's annual parcel taxes and amortized over 20 years, or a property owner could pay a lump sum up front of his/her share of the construction amount (before borrowing is done). The lump sum payment would be calculated once the project construction is complete and all costs are accounted for.

Q: Can we defer our parcel taxes?

A: Yes, all or a portion of your annual parcel taxes can be deferred. However, annual user fees cannot be deferred. You must be 55 or older, have at least 25% equity in your property and have paid up any arrears before entering into the deferral program.