Keremeos Mayor Manfred Bauer spoke to members of the Seniors Centre Society on October 2.
The mayor gave the members a brief update on his and council’s recent activities, beginning with attendance at the recent Union of BC Municipalities convention in Vancouver.
The mayor and one coucillor attended the sessions, meeting with several provincial ministers including Minister of Agriculture Pat Pimm. They discussed local farmworkers issues with the minister, calling for new regulations that would require mimimal camp amenities from farmers hiring transient farm labour.
Bauer noted that transients using the Similkameen River floodplains just east of the village were camping in an envrinmentally sensitive area.
Bauer also discussed the Fortis two tiered electrical rate. An evaluation of the rate is currently underway and will be presented to the BC Utilities Commission by the end of this month.
Discussions at UBCM also included promotion of the Penticton Regional Hospital Patient Tower project and improvements to the Hope Princeton Highway.
“I think we made a lot of progress there,” Bauer told the seniors. The Similkameen Valley’s tourism website also garnered attention at the conference, being touted as a pilot project for the provincial tourism industry.
Locally, village council recently approved an updated Official Community Plan and implemented a new parks bylaw. The village also recently this year’s citizen survey and now has a revamped website up and running. A Request For Proposal to construct the village’s water reservoir is now out and tenders are being received.
The Similkameen Rec Centre finished its roof upgrades last month, and new washrooms for both village parks are on the books for next spring.
Keremeos hosted a meeting of the Southern Interior Local Government Association in August, a first for the community.
The Similkameen Valley Planning Society has completed Phase one of the Similkameen Valley Watershed Study and is proceeding with a valley wide tourist guide for next year. Regional District Okanagan Similkameen trails staff installed trail markers and bollards in the village in August.
Health Centre electrical upgrades totalling $200,000 will be completed by the end of the year.
The mayor will be hosting a coffee with the mayor event on Friday, October 25, starting at 8 a.m.