New Westminster is taking action to borrow $24.8 million for upgrades to the electrical substation.
Council has approved a plan to borrow funds from the Municipal Finance Authority, having previously agreed to finance upgrades to the New Westminster substation through debt. The upgrades will increase the substation’s capacity.
Coun. Betty McIntosh said she has no issues with the electrical utility, but questions why the city is borrowing the entire $24.8 million instead of using some of the funds in the electrical utility reserve. While she doesn’t want to strip the reserve, McIntosh thinks the city could allocate some of those funds toward the project, rather than borrowing the full amount.
“Construction is nearing completion and total costs are projected to reach approximately $24,800,000,” stated a staff report. “Staff is proposing that council resolve to approve issuing $24,800,000 in debt through the MFA.”
Sign bylaw being reviewed
An increasing number of variances may be a sign that it’s time to update one of the city’s bylaws.
Coun. Bill Harper recently questioned if the city’s sign bylaw is too rigid, given the number of variances that have been requested recently. He believes the city needs a sign bylaw that is flexible enough that staff can deal with minor variances.
“The sign bylaw review is well underway,” said Bev Grieve, the city’s director of development services. “We have it as a priority item with staff.”
Grieve expects the review will be finished sometime this fall.
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr supports a review of the sign bylaw, but believes the public needs to be engaged in the process. He said the city needs to have “a modern day discussion” about signage.
