Selected highlights from the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen held Thursday, February 6. Complete minutes of the meeting will be made available to the public following adoption at the next scheduled Board meeting February 20, 2014.
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The Board of Directors met with representatives from FortisBC to discuss a number of issues raised by RDOS ratepayers. Those issues included the introduction of Smart Meters in the South Okanagan and Similkameen; the two-tiered Residential Conservation Rate; and, a proposal to build a hydro dam on the Similkameen River Princeton.
Earlier this week, the Regional District, in partnership with the Osoyoos, Penticton and Lower Similkameen Indian Bands, sent a letter to Premier Christy Clark seeking additional information on these issues.
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The Board of Directors gave three readings to and adopted security issuing bylaws that complete borrowing processes for the Frank Venables Auditorium in Oliver, the Apex Water System and the Okanagan Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant. The three projects, until now funded with temporary borrowing, will now be financed under long-term debt programs.
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Alternate directors attending meetings within an Electoral Area on behalf of the Area Director can now receive compensation at the rate of $108.35 per eight-hour meeting day — with compensation prorated for shorter meetings. The Board of Directors approved the amendment to the Board Remuneration Bylaw. Compensation will be at the discretion of the Area Director.
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Two Naramata developers who contributed to a covenant reserve held as part of a twinning project for the Naramata Water Reserve will receive a combined refund of $168,388 and interest.

The Board of Directors’ decision to refund the money follows an earlier determination not to move forward with a twinning of a system that would have provided for separate treated and irrigated water lines. A feasibility study conducted in 2013 concluded that not completing the twinning would save ratepayers $3.3 million.

The funds held in the covenant reserve are separate from reserve funds set aside for the capital project.

News from © iNFOnews, 2014