Letter was sent to the BCC on behalf of the MCREC, also this issue was on the agenda this week for the BCC, it was taken off the agenda for review in October (TBD).
When this issue was present in late April to the P&Z Commission the applicant rep, as well as the documentation provided by the County, mistakenly indicated the current water supply system had only on well. This was incorrect and likely influenced the Commission to approve the project or at least voided any questions of why not just upgrade the two existing well on USFS property.
There was a Community meeting on May 14th held by the County in Salt Springs, (I attended) as asked at the meeting there are no pending letters from the USFS that the current operation at Salt Spring is affecting their operation or any request to stop operating. The Community meeting was well run but highlighted the issues of concern and some key data gaps.
Just to be clear upgrading the wells and adding an additional storage tank to service this rural community is well-founded project, the need to change well locations lacks any substantial rational from a cost / technical basis.
- Residents very concerned that moving the wells closer to their private wells could impact their wells as well as the nearby lake.
- The new location as voiced by residents will reduce the size of the public park / ball field and create light pollution concerns.
- As indicated by County staff they did not cost the well upgrade at the current location for comparison to the +$3M planning budget estimate for the new facility – there are no detailed costs estimates to conduct a cost/benefit analysis. (The slated for late 2027/early 2028 will likely cost more than this unclassified planning estimate & does not include required well abandonment)
- The current wells are located on very small parcels within the Salt Spring USFS recreational facility (not sure of the size but it is large), there is room to add a second storage tank and work over the wells for upgrades from 10& 6 inch to two 12-inch wells.
Probably more info. that you want – attached is the letter sent by the MC Rep Exec Committee to the County Commissioners ahead of the meeting that was set for May 19th that is now delayed until Oct as well as pictures I took at the site.
