A decision by city council Monday night has one Black Street resident continuing to worry about her neighbours who will not only be forced to pay a local improvement charge (LIC), but also the unknown cost of installing recirculation pumps into the homes.

Council voted 4-3 to go ahead with an LIC to property owners on Black Street from Fourth Avenue to the escarpment for road improvements, such as the installation of paving, lighting and sidewalks.

The work would be done after the city rips up the road to put in new water and sewer mains.

Homes on the street will also be required to have recirculation pumps installed to prevent pipes from freezing, replacing the bleeder systems often found in the older homes downtown.

It's expected the LIC, a charge to benefiting property owners where above-ground road work is done based on their lot frontage, will cost the average homeowner $7,000 if it's paid outright or $11,000 if amoratized over 15 years.

The entire project is expected to cost $6.2 million, with the LICs funding $439,000 of the $1.7 million to be spent on above-ground work.

With last night's vote, Black Street resident Brenda Barnes wonders about her neighbours' ability to pay the bill along with getting the new pump installed in their homes.

As she's pointed out in the past, she and her partner each have the benefit of a full-time job, but there are many seniors on the street living on fixed incomes.

It would be nice, she said, if the city gave consideration to such circumstances.

Coun. Dave Stockdale, however, didn't see it as a major expense after he figured out how much it would cost most residents on a monthly basis.

"Sixty-one dollars a month is not an extraordinary amount,” he argued before voting in favour of the LIC along with Mayor Bev Buckway and Councillors Dave Austin and Florence Roberts.

He later stated he didn't agree with Coun. Ranj Pillai's proposal to offer a subsidy to residents for the recirculation pumps, arguing it would set a precedent for such situations in the future.

It is up to individuals to deal with their own financial situations, he commented.

It was Roberts who noted if the city holds off on the work, it will only cost more to property owners down the road.

The councillors who voted in favour of the LIC also contended there had indeed been sufficient consultation with area residents. They cited the vote for property owners on the LIC, a meeting with area residents and the ongoing public hearings in the matter.

"Let's get on with it,” Austin said.

In the vote held last year, he noted, residents were clearly told if they didn't agree with it to register their ballot against it.

A total of 19 people registered their votes against the charge while another 15 endorsed it.

The remaining 16 affected property owners didn't submit ballots, which are counted as a vote in favour. That's a sticking point for many residents who spoke out over the last few months against the charge and some of the plans for the street.

Where there's a vote of more than 50 per cent against an LIC, the charge doesn't go ahead.

Throughout their presentations, a number of residents told council unreturned ballots should be treated as they would in any vote and not be counted. That point was not lost on Coun. Betty Irwin, who was the first to state last night she would not vote for the LIC.

Though city staff have stated section 269 of the territory's Municipal Act is clear negative votes are the ones to be counted in an LIC, Irwin argued last night that is an interpretation of the act.

She could not find anywhere in the document where it states uncast ballots are to be counted as being in favour. It's her position, she said, that only returned ballots should be counted.

Those in favour of the charge also noted their agreement with city staff on the matter.

"It's very, very clear,” Stockdale said of the act, going on to argue the system of LIC voting has been around "forever in a day.”

Irwin was quick to reply that "so was slavery.”

Section 269 of the Municipal Act states notice of an LIC must be sent to all affected property owners.

It then reads: "A written objection to the local improvement may only be filed with the municipality within 30 days of the notice being sent….”

It also says, "If the majority of the benefiting property owners object to a local improvement, the council cannot proceed with the local improvement, and no further proposals for the same local improvement can be made for a period of one year.”

After taking her stand on the vote, Irwin also pointed out residents have had no say in the final product, with consultants set to work on the final design only after the LIC goes ahead.

She had hoped for further discussion on financial help that could have been extended to residents.

Pillai, who brought forward the proposal for the subsidy, said he would stand by his statement last week if there was no subsidy, he would vote against the LIC. With no resolution to his proposal by last night, he voted against it.

He too cited a number of breakdowns in communication between the city and residents.

Twice, the city failed to send proper notice to residents of the public hearing on the matter, making for a total of three hearings before it came to council for a vote.

This morning, Barnes said the issues with the process have been discussed at length. She hopes the Black Street situation will lead to a better process.

"Perhaps it's time to take a look at the process,” she said, later stating she would like to see a better way for residents to bring their concerns to the city.

Simply approaching council at a public hearing can be intimidating, as residents can end up facing questions by the seven council members and risk being heavily criticized for their views.

As Buckway pointed out, the Municipal Act wouldn't be changed in time to impact the Black Street LIC in any case.

Perhaps this will mean those who didn't register their vote will do so in the future, she said.

It's expected the city will now hire a consultant to begin work on the design for the street.

Physical work this year will likely be limited to the commercial area of the street, with the residential portion to be done in later years.