A strong reaction from residents and the local business community to proposed changes to the Big White transfer station has raised questions about the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary’s ability to provide appropriate services to the community.
There has been a history of concern from the community related to the value and efectiveness of services provided by the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary along with questions about how tax dollars collected are being allocated.
“The proposed changes to the transfer station have hit a nerve for 2 reasons” says Richard Berrie, President of the Big White Mountain Chamber of Commerce. “The first concern is that there appears to be a fundamental lack of understanding by the RDKB about our community and local economy. This is coupled with a recent engagement process that has left many community and business members feeling unheard.”
“The second concern”, explains Berrie, “relates to the RDKB’s ability to eFectively provide services to Big White Mountain in a cost-efective way; waste management being at the top of that list. We have over 100 businesses on the mountain, the majority of which relate to tourism. Imagine you are a local cleaning or property management company; you need daily access to the transfer station as people check in and out of accommodations. One of the options the RDKB proposed was for the transfer station to only be open 3 days a week. That would be crippling for many businesses.”
Mark Hillhouse, President of the Big White Mountain Community Development Association reiterates these concerns. “When it comes to our transfer station specifically, the mechanical doors have repeatedly been inoperable for extended periods of time due to mechanical issues with long delays in repairs. This has been extremely frustrating and has resulted in other issues, one of which was a bear accessing the garbage in the transfer station last year. The recent solution provided by the RDKB has focused on making the facility a manned station with diFerent tax increase options proposed based on hours of service. Big White represents a significant tax base for the RDKB, yet the services we are provided for those funds seems wildly disproportionate. To even suggest a tax increase for appropriate waste management services when we are already underserviced is ridiculous. What we want are straight forward answers and meaningful dialogue.”
The RDKB is hosting a Big White Mountain Community Town Hall on Wednesday March 6th at 6PM at the Happy Valley Day Lodge. The local chamber of commerce and community association are encouraging attendance.