With multiple calls for a “stop work order” on the Well 6 pumphouse project at a March 8 community consultation, residents of Gibsons’ Oceanmount Boulevard appear to share little common ground with the Town on the plans for the construction of that facility in their neighbourhood.
Town staff invited area residents to the online meeting via a letter dated March 3. The event was organized at council’s request, after it approved the awarding of a contract to construct the 40 by 10-foot pumphouse withing five feet of the property lines of single family residences.
Approval to spend $1.16 million on the infrastructure to enhance the Town’s water system was granted at council’s Feb. 15 meeting, despite concerns being voiced by resident Phil Dubrulle regarding a lack of consultation with those living near the site. Council members expressed disappointment regarding that oversight but agreed with staff’s recommendation to move forward with construction in March, to ensure that the new well could be brought online this summer. They requested a check-in meeting be hosted to hear concerns and suggestions from neighbours of the project on integration of the pumphouse into their area.
Consultation event host, town director of engineering Dave Newman faced a barrage of criticism regarding a lack of communication with the public on the project. He apologized for not responding to all emails received, noted that the volume was huge, with 125 emails received to his direct address in one day, as well as many to other Town email accounts.
Several of the approximately 20 residents participating in the meeting refused to accept high volume as a reason for a lack of responsiveness. Suggestions were made that Newman needed “to wake up earlier” or “try harder” to consult effectively.
More negative reaction from attendees followed Newman’s attempt to limit residents’ questions or comments during the event.
“What concerns us is the lack of process and meaningful consultation. Oceanmount residents want a delay until there is appropriate consultation…we want the Town to issue a stop work order and revisit the design phase,” Dubrulle said. He also said that if the town was not prepared to cooperate, a group of about 20 residents are prepared to engage in a legal challenge of the project.
He stated that the town had not followed guidelines or policies and should postpone the project until appropriate consultation is undertaken. Commenting on the scheduling of the consultation meeting after the decision on project tendering had already been made, he said, “It is a little bit too late. The cart is about a country mile ahead of the horse.”
Concerns raised during the meeting by the residents included how noise and vibration from pumphouse equipment would impact their homes. A question about relocating the equipment into an underground bunker or whether two smaller pumphouses could be built rather than a single large one were asked. Suggestions were also made for the town to investigate changing the facility’s back up generator power source from diesel to solar or natural gas.
During the meeting, Newman extended an apology for his initial public comments during project planning that the pumphouse would be “about the size of a garden shed.” He said he misspoke and should have used the term “accessory building rather than garden shed.”
“Council does want to consult, and if there was a failure (on this project), it lands on me,” Newman stated as he wound up the hour and a half meeting. He noted that a report on the event would be discussed at a future Council meeting. Coun. Annemarie De Andrade and David Croal were in the online meeting audience.
