Council to vote on rescinding sewer lift station purchase offer

City council will consider officially pulling an offer to take over a local condo’s sewer lift station just months after the owners lost a court ruling against the city on the matter.

Council members will vote Monday on rescinding a $1.7 million borrowing bylaw that would have paid for the city to rebuild the controversial station off site and folded it into city operations.

The River Ridge Condo Association has argued for more than 10 years that they should not be liable for a lift station on the condo property because it was improperly allowed by city planners.

They, along with two neighbouring developments that use the station, sued the city last year. They ask the court to force the city to take ownership of the station and all related pipes under a fiveproperty parcel in west Riverside.

In November, a Court of Queen’s Bench justice found the city had no liability in the matter and dismissed their claim. Owners have said they would consider options including an appeal.

The issue has simmered for more than a decade after original developer Medican handed over the operations of the station then subsequently went bankrupt having never put in place a multi-party maintenance agreement.

In 2014 city council agreed with a staff recommendation that while not claiming any responsibility for the station, that they offer to take over the lift operations if an agreement on other utility line and road could be reached between the private parties.

Last month senior administers recommended that the bylaw be cancelled with a one line explanation that “the utility capital budget item is no longer required.”