In my view, the positive outcomes of the council’s decision to proceed with a five-year contract with EPCOR are that further confusion, contention and conflict in the community has been avoided by not having a referendum; a five-year rather than a 21-year agreement has been approved; and the community is continuing to receive excellent service from a reputable company.
I had made a proposal to council to evaluate three alternatives – a five-year contract with EPCOR, a five-year contract with a community co-operative and a local public works department to objectively determine the alternative that would best contribute to the social and economic sustainability and resilience of our community.
Hopefully in the future, this evaluation will be done so that we can reach a decision which will satisfy community members that all of the issues have been fully addressed.
For now, the decision has been made and it is time to move on.
Don Brown
Sooke