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municipal
Labour council president running for city council
KAMLOOPS - The current president of the Kamloops and District Labour Council is the latest to announce his intention to run in the upcoming municipal election. Peter Kerek has been the president of the council since 2011 and earlier this week he used social media to announce his intention to run. The Kamloops Transit employee...
Council goes against staff on casino move
KAMLOOPS - The public will get to voice input on the proposed move of the downtown casino to the former Rona location in Aberdeen after a staff recommendation to deny the application was overturned by council Tuesday. “We need the opportunity to hear from the community, and casino people,” Coun. Tina Lange said. “(We have)...
Overlanders Bridge update moving forward
KAMLOOPS - The city is moving forward on the $9.3 million in repairs needed for the Overlanders Bridge deck and sidewalk, work set to take place in 2015. Originally the project was set to fix the bridge deck at an estimated cost of $6.12 million but early this year staff asked councillors to hold off...
Staff against moving downtown casino to Aberdeen
KAMLOOPS - Relocating the Lake City Casino out of downtown will potentially weaken the core area and require ‘significant’ improvements to traffic and transportation in the Aberdeen and Pineview areas. “The loss of the casino in the City Centre may have an impact on downtown's social and economic fabric,” Development Director Marvin Kwiatkowski said in...
Westsyde Road rehab to be complete by fall
KAMLOOPS - Westsyde Road will get a lot of new asphalt this summer and it will be done with a lower price tag than originally thought as well. The road will see more than 70,000 square metres of concrete surface milled and paved, as well as drainage improvements and replacement of all sanitary, storm, water...
City focuses on flood cleanup, tallying property damage
KAMLOOPS – While the flooding may have stopped, the City of Kamloops now has cleanup to worry about after buckets of rain scattered debris and poured through several buildings around town – including City Hall. “I don’t know the extent of (the damage),” City of Kamloops Manager Mike Firlotte says about the flooding at the...
STAHN: Tax payers should find another way
The City of Kamloops spent $45,000 this year on a temporary tax office just to help residents who insist on paying their tax bills in person avoid the construction taking place outside of City Hall. Does that make sense in 2014? Only 2,600 people used the temporary office at McArthur Island working out to a cost...
Okanagan Lake walkway opens with a splash
PENTICTON - Come celebrate the official opening of the Okanagan Lake waterfront walkway at a Beach Party fundraiser at the SS Sicamous esplanade this Saturday. Splash around in the water to help beat the heat, or take a ride on a slip-n-slide that shoots you right out into the lake. The kids can play in...
Residents make formal complaint about beach-going nudists
PENTICTON - A formal complaint has been made to RCMP about nudists at Three Mile Beach making other beach goers uncomfortable. A group of people who live near the beach brought their complaints to Mayor Garry Litke Tuesday who passed them on again to Supt. Kevin Hewco. “Local residents are feeling intimidated about using the...
Penticton considering spreading advanced polling stations around city
PENTICTON - Voters may get more options as to where they can cast their ballots in the upcoming municipal election. Staff recommended council consider changing locations for one of two days of early voting, to better accommodate people living on the south side of town. Ballots have previously been cast at advanced polling stations set...
Council considers sale of liquor at outdoor market
PENTICTON - Local vendors will soon be able to sell packaged liquor for off-site consumption at farmers’ markets, so long as council approves a change of what defines an “outdoor market.” In order to allow liquor sales and tasting at outdoor markets, the city needs to make a zoning amendment to the current bylaw. The...
$45K temporary tax office a ‘failure’
KAMLOOPS — One of the councillors who spoke out against spending $45,000 on a temporary tax office says the pilot project was a 'failed experiment' after only about 2,600 people used the alternative office. About a quarter of city property owners still pay in person instead of online but only seven per cent of property...
ARCHER: Hey Boonstock, just tell us what’s going on
Hey kids! Boonstock is only three weeks away! Nothing but fun and sun and music and culture and stuff! It’s all good all the time! Just please don’t look behind the curtain. I know I’ll be accused of being the grumpy old parent shushing the teenagers on their three-day sleepover, but I wish I didn’t...
Council’s tour of Boonstock grounds eases concerns
PENTICTON - Progress on the Boonstock festival grounds this morning appears to be winning over skeptical Penticton City councillors who toured the property again this morning. It still looks like barren land, but organizers assured they are on track for a safe and fun weekend Aug 1 to 3. Not all councillors were invited to walk through...
City officials to take tour of Boonstock grounds
PENTICTON - Boonstock organizers have arranged another walk-through of festival grounds this weeks for city officials who either missed out or were not invited to the last tour on June 13. Coun. Helena Konanz confirmed her attendance at the walk-through and said she is excited about the festival and the 8,500 people it will bring...
Council questions whether Boonstock is a good idea for the city
PENTICTON - The topic of Boonstock caused a bit of a stir during this week’s council meeting when one councillor said she does not support the event. During a discussion on issues arising from the Protective Services Advisory Committee, Coun. Katie Robinson said there was a lack of substance in the Boonstock plan. Whenever there...
More savings for city in road rehabilitation
KAMLOOPS - Another road project ready to start, another $1 million in savings for the city. The lone bid for the rehabilitation of Windbreak Street came in at just under $2.3 million, well below the $3.3 million put aside in the 2014 budget for the project. It was originally thought the project just needed some...
Council faces off: Is Stuart Wood more important because it is downtown?
KAMLOOPS - More than an hour was spent discussing the merits of keeping Stuart Wood as an elementary school and whether the city should step in to provide ‘support’ to the school district in making the decision. “Where was this passion for John Tod last term?” Mayor Peter Milobar said, “Was it because it was...
City could see savings on Tranquille upgrades
KAMLOOPS — New sidewalks, a roundabout and even a lookout point are all in the plans for Tranquille Road near the airport and with the help of Kinder Morgan the effort to beautify one of the main gateways into our city could move forward a lot more quickly. The project, from Desmond Street to the...
More development doesn’t mean more rentals
PENTICTON - A recent study shows there are fewer rental units in Penticton than there were at this time last year, but can the city’s development department keep up with a shrinking rental availability? Anthony Haddad, the city’s director of development services said he hasn't received a lot of proposals for apartment buildings lately. However,...
Single family permits up
KAMLOOPS - The lastest numbers are in and show building permits for single family houses continue to rise a couple permits per month in Kamloops. Multi family permits issued in May were on pace with May 2013, though the year to date numbers are still down significantly. There were 22 permits issued for single family...
City gets wrong school district on property tax forms
PENTICTON - Property owners will be mailed amended property tax notices after the City noticed an administrative error, naming the wrong school district. The 2014 property tax calculations listed the school district as District 53, Okanagan-Similkameen, rather than the correct District 67, Okanagan-Skaha. “We sincerely apologize to affected property owners for the erros, and regret...
City takes action against residents building without permits
PENTICTON - The City may have to take action against residents who violated city law by constructing a building on their property without having the proper permits. The residents of 229 Scott Avenue have not responded to the City’s requests to apply for construction permits after it was discovered the owners were constructing an additional...
City faces maintenance costs that could have been avoided
PENTICTON - As a result of poor planning, the city needs to front a good chunk of money to replace pool tiles at the community centre. The pool tiles are causing safety issues, specifically as a slipping hazard. In order to maintain the tiles and keep them clean enough to prevent slipping, it would cost...