Regional district staff, including members of the RCMP, made themselves available to interested members of the public at a town hall meeting held at the Okanagan Falls Elementary School gym on Wednesday, February 9.
Area “D” Director Bill Schwarz, in his opening remarks, noted that the meeting was “truly for the whole of Area “D,” but topics not related to Okanagan Falls issues were conspicuously absent from the director’s agenda.
Despite the length of the meeting, there was little that was new regarding what appears to have become a standard list of topics for town hall discussion in Area “D”.
The Okanagan Falls sewer treatment plant, development of the former Weyerhaeuser property, Okanagan Falls beautification, development of an RV campground, policing and development of the Okanagan Falls waterfront, have all been agenda items at previous town hall meetings. They were once again the focus on Wednesday night, in spite of the fact that a large part of the audience had come from other parts of the regional district area, with the intent of voicing their concerns in front of an assembly of Area “D” residents.
Such was not to be the case, however, as the agenda events consumed more than two hours of the citizens time. By the time the floor was available for residents outside of Okanagan Falls to voice their concerns, most of the audience had departed.
Preloading for the Okanagan Falls sewage treatment plant began last week. Concerns from residents involved the projected $400,000 additional cost required to pre load the site.
RDOS Public Works Manager Doug French assured the assembly that the over budget could be handled through contingency funds, but concern was also voiced that the project had only just begun, and contingency funds were being utilized.
Kaleden resident Tom Siddon voiced concerns over the prospect of treated effluent being dumped into the Okanagan River.
“If every community does what you’re going to do, people will be able to walk across the Okanagan River in ten years. Perhaps the contingency money could have been spent addressing that,” he said.
Schwarz reported that an environmental clean up was still underway, holding up the issuance of an environmental permit for the former Weyerhaeuser lands.
“ A full cerificate is close at hand,” he told the group, “Structurelam (laminated wood products manufacturer) has leased a portion of the property and is constructing a new building on the property that will house the largest planer in North America. They expect to move the rest of their Penticton operation to the site by 2014.”
Effort to enhance Okanagan Falls through a “beautification program” are continuing, in partnership with the Okangan Falls Wine Region Association. Banners, murals, benches, and floral barrels will be added to the streets of Okanagan Falls in time for this year’s tourist season.
A new Economic Development Officer - John Powell - has been hired to assist the town in its attempts to attract business and commerce to the town. An $18,000 tourism development plan is being conducted to help define what opportunities might be available to Okanagan Falls.
Director Schwarz is working with the Osoyoos Indian Band to conceptualize a plan for the Okanagan Falls RV Park being developed along the Okanagan River, south of the stockyards. It has been conceded that a seasonal operation is not sustainable, and it is hoped that the season could be stretched to serve daily campers in the summer months, and snowbirds on a longer term during the winter.
“We’re looking to create traffic within the community,” Schwarz said, “How long before it is in operation? I’m not sure - maybe this summer.”
Policing matters were discussed by Penticton RCMP Inspector Brad Haugli and Corporal Martin Trudeau, who is the dedicated officer assigned to rural policing, Haugli admitted that there was an insufficient number of police for the rural area, and that he was in the midst of researching the issue in order to gather facts to present to his superiors.
The issue of parking around the village was breifly discussed, without any real public support shown for any political action to be taken on the matter. An Okanagan Falls based trucker pointed out that he had no other place but the street to park his rig when he overnighted at home.
The walkway planned for the Okanagan Falls beach area will be constructed in three parts with the first phase presently in the works.The contract has been let for concept and design and the first phase is scheduled for completion by July 1. Funding for the project is expected to come from gas taxes.
The Skaha Shores bankruptcy date is scheduled for February 24. Plans for the amalgamation of Kenyon and Chrisitie Parks will not include the construction of a police kiosk in the park, but negotiations are underway for Christie Park to return to the jurisdiction of Okanagan Parks and Recreation Commission. It is hoped that reclamation work on the Skaha Shores property will begin by mid March, with the addition to the park network up and running by next year.
Progress - albeit slow - is being made on the lineal trails between Penticton and Okanagan Falls, with negotiations continuing between the Penticton Indian Band and the regional district over use of the right of way between Kaleden and Penticton. The old siding portion of the railway lands parallelling Alder Avenue in Kaleden recently sold to a private purchaser, and it is not known what the plans are for future use of the property. It is hoped that a license of occupation for the trail from Kaleden to Okanagan Falls will be granted soon.
A discussion about the possibility of a provincial remand centre locating in Area “D” took place, with pros outweighing the cons stated by members of the audience. The whole discussion, it was noted, might be moot because logistics and efficiencies precluded Area “D” from being a serious contender for the correctional facility, which would involve steady transport to and from the Kelowna court house to the remand centre.
Official Community Plan upgrades are planned for Okanagan Falls, beginning in the spring. OCP’s for Kaleden and Apex will follow.
A question by the director to move ahead with an intiative to fund a full time by law enforcement officer for the southern half of Skaha Lake was enthusiastically endorsed by those in attendance.
With the meeting stretching past two hours, other area groups from Heritage Hills and Twin Lakes with issues to discuss were left without an audience as residents began leaving the meeting.