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Crowd boos decision to go with P3 sewage plant

Council votes 5-2 in favour

It’s been their toughest decision to date.

On Monday council agreed to continue down the contentious path of entering into partnership with a private company for the multi-million dollar upgrades and, ultimately, the long-term operations of Whistler’s pungent sewage treatment plant.

As a consolation, urged on by Mayor Ken Melamed, council agreed it would not privatize the water delivery systems in the resort in the future.

Despite that promise the decision prompted angry outbursts from the audience, exasperated sighs and eventually disheartened boos from roughly 15 community members who had waited for more than four hours to hear how council would deal with the sewage plant.

"Stevie Wonder could see there’s going to be problems with this project," said a disappointed Pete Davidson, president of the local Canadian Union of Public Employees chapter, outside council chambers after the decision. "So they might want to get an eye exam."

Only two councillors – Nancy Wilhelm-Morden and Eckhard Zeidler – voted to abandon the public-private partnership, or P3.

It was a partially apologetic mayor who felt he owed it to the community to share his reasons why he voted in favour of the P3.

"I tried to make it clear last night that this was a very challenging decision for me," said Mayor Melamed on Tuesday morning. "I had to think as mayor and not as the old Ken, councillor. Part of me agreed with the groups that were opposing this."

As a councillor Melamed opposed the P3 when the option was presented to the last council, behind closed doors, more than two years ago.

He said deep down his heart and his philosophies lie with some of the groups in opposition of the P3, namely CUPE and the Council of Canadians.

As mayor, however, he said he had a duty to respect the decisions made in the past and not have a council flip-flopping back and forth like yo-yos. And they had to make a decision soon.

Council was unanimous in its support that they could not defer the decision any longer, he said. The upgrades need to be done before the 2010 Olympics. The plant is operating at capacity and during peak periods is stressed and not in compliance with provincial standards. The municipality has also been promising to fix the odour problem, which lingers over the south end of town, for several years.

Without a crystal ball to guide them, council had to rely on the information given to them from staff and other sources.

"In some cases it’s the devil you know versus the devil you don’t know and it requires a leap of faith and a set of assumptions," said Melamed, in an interview before he made his decision. "Certainly weighing heavily on my mind is the list of failed P3 projects. It would be irresponsible to go ahead and not seriously consider that. On the other hand our advisors are telling us that P3s have advanced so much since their inception that it has reduced the opportunity for failure. There’s great cause for confidence."

One of the main arguments in favour of P3s is that with one company designing, building and operating a project they can find efficiencies. This upgrade is expected to be 15 per cent cheaper than the traditional model. That represents a savings of $10 million over the 20-year period of the P3 agreement. The project overall is expected to cost $78 million, a price that includes the capital costs of construction and the 20-year operations of the plant.

The money will come in part from the municipal Sewer Reserve Fund and there will be a small contribution from both the federal and provincial governments.

Before Melamed weighed in Monday night, a passionate Councillor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden presented compelling reasons to reject the P3 and pursue the traditional procurement model. That model would see the RMOW issue bids for the design team and the construction team and then continue to operate the plant.

She mounted her arguments like a trial lawyer, clearly articulating a case against the P3. Supporters in the audience sat in rapt attention as she held court in council chambers.

She began by saying that when she first heard about the P3 her ideologies were opposed to it. She admitted that she believed there are some services better left in the public domain.

"There are things that government does, to my mind, better than private industry," she said, to loud clapping from the audience.

But she tried to put her ideology aside as she investigated the pros and cons for pursuing this P3.

Wilhelm-Morden outlined the history of the decision of the past council.

In 2004 staff did not support a P3 and were ready to head down the traditional procurement route. And then the province stepped in to encourage staff to take a second look.

Less than a year later staff’s recommendation had changed. Nothing else had changed, said Wilhelm-Morden except that the province had weighed in.

Whistler considered the P3 at the province’s request and now it’s time to move on in the best interests of the community she said. In her mind the best interests would be met by keeping the sewage plant in public hands.

"We’ve fulfilled our obligation to the province," she added.

She also said there is no guarantee the project will come in cheaper under a P3 agreement.

She’s not the only one questioning the cost savings of the P3. Many in opposition wonder how the private sector can do it cheaper than the public sector.

"These people aren’t in it for free," said Phil Chew, who attended the first open house on the issue, which was held just three days before council’s decision. "They’re not going to run it for free. They’re in it for profit.

"(The private company is) not looking after our interests. They’re looking after their interests and it’s all about money."

But despite getting a standing ovation from the anti-P3 crowd, Wilhelm-Morden could not change other councillors’ minds. Her only support came from Zeidler.

Councillors Ralph Forsyth and Bob Lorriman said they weren’t engineers or lawyers and deferred to the expertise of staff. Forsyth also said he would not be bullied by outbursts from the audience by what he sees as special interest groups.

And though he recognized that his support of the P3 may cost him votes, he was confident in his decision.

"I will rest easy tonight knowing that I made the best decision for my constituents," he said.

The sewage treatment plant expansion will mark the first time Whistler has contracted out a public utility to a private company. Four large companies are in the running for the 20-year contract in which they will be responsible for designing and building the upgrades and then operating the plant. The Resort Municipality of Whistler will continue to own the plant and set the rates.

The Request For Proposals for the P3 will be sent to the four short-listed companies on Feb. 10.