Council Highlights - August 13, 2019

Council Meeting

August 13, 2019 

Provincial Cannabis Store

Council agreed to accept a non-medical cannabis retail store rezoning application for a provincial government operated cannabis retail outlet at 2475 Dobbin Road. Council had considered the matter at its meeting on July 23 meeting but a motion to accept the application was defeated due to a tie vote. Mayor Gord Milsom exercised his option to require Council to reconsider the matter. The application will now proceed to a rezoning process which will include a public hearing.

Social Issues Town Hall Feedback

Council received a report outlining the public feedback received during the June 27 Town Hall hosted to hear concerns regarding housing and social issues in the community. The concerns raised, and the suggestions provided by some of the 200 people who attended, will be considered at an upcoming Committee of the Whole meeting as part of 2020-2022 Strategic Priorities and budget deliberations. Council expressed an interest in having the meeting happen as quickly as possible.

Video Surveillance at Westbank Lions Community Centre

Council approved the expansion of video surveillance at the Westbank Lions Community Centre at 2466 Main Street. The move is intended to ensure safety and security of people, assets and property in the area. It will also aid the City in identifying people committing acts of vandalism, theft or other crime. The City’s video surveillance policy requires council’s approval before implementing new surveillance systems or expanding existing systems. The project budget is $26,000.

Road Maintenance Policy and Procedures

Council repealed policies that previously addressed roads and sidewalks maintenance and adopted the Road Maintenance Policy and Procedures Manual which guides the delivery of all roadway maintenance activities in West Kelowna. The document includes the flexibility for Council to increase or decrease service levels during its annual budget process if it chooses.

Multi Sport Dome Rates

Council gave first three readings to its Fees and Charges Bylaw to include rates for renting the City’s new Multi Sport Dome, now under construction. Staff consulted with existing field user groups and reviewed similar fees in other community to establish the rates. The rental rate for the full field during prime time is $175/hour, $110/hour for non-prime time. The fees are also established for rental of half the field. The Multi Sport Dome, at 2139 McDougall Road, will be the community’s first air-supported structure over a Super-8 sized synthetic turf field. The $4.1 million facility, supported in part with a generous contribution of $667,000 from the Westside Youth Soccer Association, will greatly extend play and practice times into evenings in spring and fall. When completed, the dome will align with Rosewood Sports Field, Mar Fee Park and Trails and Mar Jok Elementary School to create three square kilometres of continuous public amenities along McDougall Road, Rosewood Drive and Westlake Road. The dome is expected to open in early October.

Water Supply Update

Council was updated on the City’s water supply, particularly in light of information provided in early July that indicated reservoirs were lower than normal due to less than typical precipitation and warm and dry weather. Since then, July’s rainfall has meant a return to close to normal conditions (the past five years have been extremely dry). This rain helped to replenish reservoirs and meant less draw on the system as people needed to irrigate less. At this time there is no need to consider elevating sprinkling regulations.