Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell is being accused of attempting an end run around a provincially appointed sewage board and lobbying for a private company’s proposal to build a sewage-treatment plant at Victoria’s Clover Point.
In what Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps called a “disrespectful” action, Atwell met with the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association board on Monday, seeking space to make a presentation about sewage treatment.
During the meeting, Atwell proposed bringing in John Knappett as part of that presentation. In January, Knappett suggested building an underground sewage-treatment plant at Clover Point. Capital Regional District technical staff recommended against it, saying the site was too tight for the proposed technology.
Fairfield resident Brian Lepine called Atwell’s actions a “totally inappropriate” end run around the provincially appointed sewage oversight panel. The panel, which the CRD agreed to last month, is to take control of the project. Its members have not been named.
“Like he doesn’t have enough to do in his own constituency? He’s coming into Victoria now and he’s dragging us back through to where we were before,” Lepine said.
Helps said she was gobsmacked by Atwell’s actions. “It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s completely inappropriate. We’ve all agreed to have this project board come in and do some work. I thought these shenanigans would be finished now. We handed it over and our job is to get out of the way and let this group of experts come up with a recommendation,” she said.
“I think the important thing to assure the public is the rest of the 23 [CRD] directors have agreed to a process and are letting that process unfold,” Helps said.
Helps, who wasn’t at the Fairfield Gonzales association’s meeting, said she heard from several residents Tuesday, wondering what was going on. “The whole thing is disrespectful to the project board, to the province, to the process and to the project itself that we’re all trying to get built.”
Atwell said he was acting on his own and isn’t doing anything wrong — he is simply trying to engage with residents and continue the discussion about sewage-treatment options.
He said he didn’t speak with Helps about approaching the Fairfield Gonzales association because he wanted to first see whether he could secure the meeting space.
Atwell said the request to the community association board for meeting space was to make a presentation about sewage treatment. “I spoke to the community association about also bringing John in to talk, more from the construction level, [about] what the impacts to Clover Point would be, one way or the other.”
Atwell said some sort of treatment plant at Clover Point should be considered, adding that there’s been “a lot of misunderstanding” about the impacts of the proposal for the site.
“So I wanted to bring some information that was just glanced at, at the CRD, into the community so we could just have a discussion about it.”
But Lepine said it was wrong for Atwell to advocate bringing in a single contractor. “We mentioned to him if you want to bring in several people who have put presentations forward or considerations for plants — whether it be at Clover Point or McLoughlin or somewhere — I’m sure the people would be happy to listen,” he said. “But, still, it’s not something he should be generating, because it’s out of his hands.”
After years of stops and starts and spending more than $66 million, CRD directors reluctantly bowed to provincial pressure last month and agreed to have an independent panel oversee the sewage-treatment project.
CRD directors made the decision following a private meeting with B.C. Community Minister Peter Fassbender, who essentially told them they would have to agree to the panel or risk losing more than $500 million in federal and provincial grants for the project.
Atwell conceded that the panel is in charge, but said it’s important that he continue discussions with residents. “There’s not much for us to do, otherwise. … The discussion, I think, has to continue on this. Ultimately, as elected officials, we’re responsible for it.”
Don Monsour, president of the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association, said no decision will be made on Atwell’s request for meeting space until next week. “It’s gone to our planning and environment committee, and they don’t meet until Monday,” he said. “They will discuss it then and see if it’s applicable, feasible or desirable for him to make that presentation, and get back to him on Monday or Tuesday.”
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins said all CRD directors, including Atwell, need to understand the new direction puts the treatment plan in the hands of the provincial project board. “We’ve given them all the information,” she said. “We’ve given the approval and we have to let them do their process.”
— With a file from Andrew A. Duffy
