municipal
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...
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...
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...
$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...
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...
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 seeks guidance on golf course development
KAMLOOPS - An application to allow for a large multiple family development was turned down by the Agricultural Land Commission last year and while that means back to the drawing board for The Dunes the city is looking to move forward an amendment to help guide these types of development in the future. Currently The...
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...
Council approves Skaha Hills sewage connection system
PENTICTON - City council approved a sewage connection system agreement with the Penticton Indian Band for the new Skaha Hills Development. The joint-agreement project was first discussed by the Committee of the Whole in May and was approved at last night’s council meeting. The plan will cost the city $285,000 but will bring a return...
Sport facility naming program off to very slow start
KAMLOOPS — When a new city sports facility naming program rolled out just over a year ago the city had high hopes it would be a great way to help reduce the amount of fundraising local sports groups would need to do, but so far not one sponsorship has been sold. “The uptake is a...