The village of Masset's goals for 2007 are to complete the new hospital on time and on budget, to complete the first two phases of the water and sewer line upgrade, to start analyzing water consumption, and to update the official community plan, the public heard at a meeting Thursday night (June 29).
The annual report meeting also went over what has been accomplished on last year's goals, said chief financial officer Kim Mushynsky. According to her report, work is approximately 10-percent complete on the new hospital project, and the construction contract has been awarded. Construction work should start in early July.
On the wastewater project, work is about 95-percent complete. The lagoons were filled with seawater in May and in early June they began to pump sewage from Old Massett into the lagoons to start growing a microbial population which will be part of the treatment process. The partially-treated sewage will then be pumped through a UV disinfection unit and the treated effluent will be discharged into the ocean.
The water and sewer line upgrade is a 10-year project, the report says. The first phase of work will start in early 2007 and be complete by the end of March to coordinate with the Ministry of Transportation, which will be doing major repairs to the highway through Masset in spring 2007.
The village has already started the water consumption analysis, the report says, with 30 residents volunteering their meter readings every second month. By January staff will be ready to start analyzing the data and comparing Masset's water use with provincial and national data. The information can be used to figure out future water requirements. The village may also investigate programs to encourage the public to use less water.
The report also includes information about tax exemptions. Masset awarded three grants this year for municipal taxes, to the GMDC Recreation Centre, the Misty Isles Curling Club and the Delkatla Sanctuary. The grants totalled $19,385.
On the financial front, the village received almost $1.5-million worth of grants in 2005. The grants allowed the village to complete the marina, work on the waste water project with Old Massett, the government dock, the skate-bike park and the emergency evacuation site. In addition, the village expanded the apron at the airport to handle increased traffic, using revenue received at the airport over the past four years.
The annual report and the 2005 financial statements are available at the village office.