The BC government has unveiled its list of recipients of the Gas Tax Funding, which include Telkwa.
The Village has received more than $3.6 million as an investment towards plans for the Trobak Hill Water Tower, a project advocated by council members of past and present for more than three decades.
Mayor Darcy Repen says having access to clean water for drinking and everyday purposes means more than anything to his community.
“We will continue to promote and educate on the opportunities and methods of good water use, and we will proactively continue to work on identifying and repairing leaks in`any of our existing infrastructure.”
Repen expects construction to get started as soon as possible, being completed as early as the Fall.
However, he says more can be done to improve the Village, claiming to be key industry contributors to the provincial and national economies.
Repen refers to the announcement as ‘bitter-sweet,’ given other funding requests were denied.
“We aren’t talking about building swimming pools, indoor skating rinks, libraries, or art galleries. We aren’t even talking about rebuilding and paving our residential side-streets because those project are beyond our economic capabilities. Our residents know that and accept that because even without them, Telkwa is still a wonderful place to live in.”
Another project include the sewer lagoons and the water mains that run through the village.
Repen believes local residents simply can’t fund them as the Village’s annual per capita revenue averages out to less than $2,000 per person.
