Union Bay Trustees “Confident” Negotiating With The Turkey of Union Bay – Kensington Island Properties

turkey copy

http://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/opinion/letters/389755701.html

In fact, this agreement, which was negotiated with the government facilitator and the UBID administrator, allows KIP to begin land development and pay capital expenditure fees per lot as they are developed. This approach does nothing for the landowners of Union Bay, as they would be required to finance the bulk of the water treatment facility and upgrades to water infrastructure to the tune of millions of dollars.

So the elected official confirms an agreement was negotiated with the government Facilitator, Kensington Island Properties and the UBID Administrator.  Shouldn’t that have been the end of it then?  Why no.  The elected official goes on to say this “approach”, not agreement, does nothing for the landowners of Union Bay.  Not liking this approach the two Trustees secretly worked out a basic agreement with KIP Costanza aka 34083 Yukon Inc., to resurrect the expired agreement and presented it to the Board on behalf of KIP.

Expired 2011 Water Infrastructure Agreement

Did the elected official come up with this idea on his own?  Did he think it might not look very good since KIP was responsible for a Facilitator being appointed and this action is a contradiction of what would be expected after reaching an agreement?

What is so special about that expired Water Infrastructure Agreement that it must be resurrected instead of a new agreement?  Why is there so much opposition to plans for a permanent facility on land purchased recently by UBID close to Langley Lake?  How can a temporary plant be considered as a solution since we will still be required to set aside money for a permanent plant?

Trustee Peter Jacques and I are confident that, with some adjustments, this previous agreement can be extended and made workable.

Wow – look who’s confident!  Someone has been patting someone on the head saying “what a smart boy”!  What adjustments do these confident guys have in mind?

page 2, (h)

“Permanent Water Facility Site” means that location that is not on the Lands and in close proximity to Langley Lake as determined by UBID in is sole discretion on which the Water Treatment Facility and the new permanent reservoir will be permanently located; 

Well, that one kind of goes against what the developer and the elected officials have decided.  The location of the permanent facility will be at McLeod Rd. and Musgrave Rd even though there has been zero information regarding suitability.  They’re confident though and explain away the concern over pressure by using holding tanks and pumps.  Gosh, I sure hope we don’t lose these two brainiacs to head hunters when word gets out about their hidden talents.  Wish they would have listed these attributes in their bid for Trustee.

No doubt BC Hydro and the RCMP had these two negotiating multi-million dollar agreements all the time.

confident trustees 2confident trustees 1

 

Page 4, subsection (y) after (iii)

but excludes any infrastructure related to Langley Lake including without limitation the dam infrastructure at Langley Lake;

The elected official reads this as the Developer is paying for anything to do with infrastructure  and dam at Langley Lake.

Page 5, 2.3

The Water Treatment Facility, while situate at the Temporary Water Facility Site as part of the Phase 1 Works shall be designed and constructed by the Developer to have the initial capacity to service, as a minimum requirement, the 650 (approximate) existing residences in Union Bay.  For so long as the Developer remains the owner of the Water Treatment Facility, no alterations or modifications of the Water Treatment Facility shall be undertaken to increase the capacity of the Water Treatment Facility, unless the Developer in its sole and exclusive discretion approves those changes to the Water Treatment Facility (as part of the Phase 1 Works).  Subject always to the requirement of the Water Distribution Bylaw and the Water Servicing Bylaw, the parties contemplate that alterations or modification may from time to time be undertaken at the Water Treatment Facility to increase the capacity of the Water Treatment Facility to handle up to approximately 1,150 residences in total within the UBID service area, which 1,150 residences will include the 650 (approximate) existing residences in Union Bay, plus up to 500 new residences within the Lands.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Developer agrees that UBID may utilize the Water Treatment Facility to add up to 10 residences per year to the UBID’s water service.

So the developer owns and is in total control of the Temporary Treatment Facility on land owned by the Developer – sole and exclusive discretion to any changes/modifications; final say when it comes to increasing capacity.

The elected official wants the interest free loan of approximately $1.3 million and yet the Developer wants 500 new residences to be hooked up.  By my math $8,900. per residence times 500 actually equals $4,450,000.  The $1.3 million covers roughly 150 residences.  And to top it off, UBID Trustees who negotiated the agreement in 2011 had no business guaranteeing 500 new residential connections as our water license is good for a total of 1045.

Page 6, 3.1 (a)

make available to UBID pursuant to the Lease the Temporary Water Facility Site and the Water Treatment Facility (while it is located at the Temporary Water Facility Site), both of which shall be owned by the Developer for so long as the Lease is in effect;

Funny, KIP disputed Trustee Bruce Livesey who brought up this very fact at the March meeting.  Kip insisted UBID would own the temporary facility.

Page 8, 4.2

The Developer’s obligation to construct any portion of the Water Infrastructure (Developer) in connection with the Permanent Facility Site is subject to UBID securing a long-term land tenure pursuant to which the Permanent Facility can be constructed on the Permanent Facility Site.

So why is the Developer in the letter of June 7, 2016, asking UBID to abandon the purchase of the land by Langley Lake and offering land at Musgrave and McLeod?

Page 8, 5.4

Notwithstanding Sections 5.1 and 5.3 hereof (or anything else set out in this Agreement), the Developer will retain ownership of the Water Treatment Facility at all times while it is situate at the Temporary Water Facility Site and will have no obligation to transfer ownership of the Water Treatment Facility pursuant to Section 5.2 and 5.3 until the Water Treatment Facility is installed as a part of the Phase 2 Works at the Permanent Water Facility Site.

Trustee Alan Webb brought this to our attention.  If a Temporary Treatment Facility is built on leased land, it will be up to UBID to move the temporary plant to the permanent location.  Also, Alan stated VIHA will not allow us to shut down our water system to relocate it somewhere else.  We must have another treatment facility up and operating before the existing facility can be shut down.

Page 10, 6.4

Upon the Water Treatment Facility being relocated from the Temporary Water Facility Site to the Permanent Water Facility Site, the Lease will automatically terminate and UBID shall decommission the Water Infrastructure on the Temporary Water Facility Site (to the extent that such Water Infrastructure is not required to service future development on the Temporary Water Facility Site) and restore the Temporary Water Facility Site to a natural state (as opposed to its condition as at the commencement date of the term of the Lease).

Again, confirmation we would not own the Temporary Facility until we had another one up and running. We would no longer need the lease and at that point the Temporary Facility would belong to UBID to move off the leased land.

Page 11, 8.4

UBID agrees that the Developer is not liable for a breach of this Agreement occurring or discovered after the Developer ceases to be the owner of the Lands and the Water Infrastructure.

This Developer is looking for investors and the chances of this project being flipped is likely.  Union Bay needs to own and control the water facility and the land it’s situated on – not a Developer.

It’s prostituting the future of the community for an interest free loan.

 

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