A group of residents are requesting the provincial government to dissolve the Union Bay Improvement District and to transfer its responsibilities to the Comox Valley Regional District.
So far, 325 Union Bay landowners and tenants have signed petitions that have been forwarded to Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.
“It’s only water and fire protection,” said Bruce Livesey, who initiated the Protect Our Water Group because he feels something is wrong with the governance in Union Bay. “The CVRD already does the rezoning and the planning and the taxes for Union Bay. Why not give them the fire and the water?”
The group feels the CVRD is better equipped to protect drinking water in Langley Lake, and to oversee fire protection and street lighting maintenance.
Former trustees Anne Alcock and Alan Webb, and former chair Carol Molstad, recently resigned from the UBID board. The remaining trustees are Glenn Loxam and Peter Jacques.
Livesey, also a former UBID trustee, says the request has nothing to do with the board.
“The timing is perfect,” he said. “As improvement districts become dysfunctional such as this one, the Province has been taking them over and turning them over to cities and municipalities. This is their mandate to do that. They don’t want improvement districts. It’s just another small level of government that they’ve been trying to dissolve for years, actually.”
“This is a golden opportunity for this to happen, and get this community out of the mess that it’s in,” Livesey said. “This bickering that’s been going on here for 20 years is outrageous. This could stop it. Take the reins away and give them to somebody else. Union Bay does not have the capacity to handle this.”
Protect Our Water Group intends to send another package containing more petitions.
“The response has been wonderful,” Livesey said. “We’re hoping to have another 100 names to submit by next Sunday.”