The big gravel pit near the dump will finally be filled in.
At the regular council meeting on Monday, Grand Forks City Council approved staff to proceed with remediation of the city’s gravel pit and amend the 2015 financial plan utilizing surplus to fund the remediation.
In her report to council, Sasha Bird, manager of development and engineering for the city, said the city received a letter from the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) regarding the condition of the pit and the RDKB landfill.
The RDKB advised the city that the over-excavation of the gravel pit has created unstable slopes that have eroded the landfill property which has impacted the RDKB’s electric fence and jeopardized FortisBC’s electrical transmission infrastructure.
The city has undertaken a geotechnical investigation and a detailed survey. Costs for the remediation are estimated to be approximately $175,000.
Councillor Julie Butler questioned the price tag and how the money was being spent but did vote along with the motion.
“I'm always trying to save money anywhere I can,” she said. “I like to make sure we absolutely do need to spend that much money before it's spent. It's a strange world we live in where we have to spend $175,000 to fill a hole but if staff has done their homework and that's what it costs then I guess that's what we have to pay. I just want to make sure.”