2022 Year In Review by Mayor Gord Milsom

What a remarkable year it has been for West Kelowna. We celebrated 15 years as a City on Dec. 6 and during this time, we have seen the transformation of a rural community with the Regional District, into a thriving young city.

We continue to experience record-breaking growth. With an established direction guided by the community’s vision, foundational long-term plans, such as the Official Community Plan and Transportation Master Plan, are taking shape and will be finalized in 2023 with the community’s help.

West Kelowna’s parks are cherished and investment of equipment and accessibility upgrades were made to a dozen parks across the City. We are particularly excited to work with Julia’s Junction to realize West Kelowna’s first fully accessible and inclusive park and look forward to bringing this to fruition in the months ahead.

Transportation upgrades to our road network such as the Shannon Lake-Bartley-Stevens Roundabout and construction of 9.4-lane kilometres of sidewalk and bike lanes were completed to keep our community moving. The construction of water transmission mains began in the West Kelowna Estates and Sunnyside areas as the last and final phase of the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant project. This critical infrastructure will be commissioned in 2023.

New construction continues to be strong and with growth comes the demand for infrastructure that serves our community. Council approved the Development Cost Charge Bylaw to reflect the actual costs, such as inflation and land, to ensure growth contributes to modern and sustainable infrastructure.

The City Hall/Library Building construction continues and once complete, it will be an economic catalyst with the addition of civic services in Westbank Centre.

It has been a year of advocacy with all levels of government to discuss the challenges we face as a community and advocate for critical investments such as the much-needed redundant power supply and improvements to our main transportation corridor, Highway 97. We continue to work closely with our good neighbours, Westbank First Nation, and look forward to working with Chief Robert Louie and his Council to strengthen our Council-to-Council relations.

Bringing the community together through programs, such as Music in the Park, Light Up and sponsored events like Westside Daze are important so we can connect and celebrate all that our city has to offer. These events wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of committed volunteers.

Although there is more work to do, we know 2023 will be an exciting year as we continue to deliver on Council’s Strategic Priorities.

In closing, as our new Council for the 2022-2026 term begins, we look forward to connecting with our community throughout the year ahead. I’m proud of our community and the accomplishments we have achieved. West Kelowna has a bright future and there is much to celebrate in the months ahead.

I wish you and your families a safe and peaceful holiday season and good health and much happiness throughout the New Year!

Watch the 2022 Year in Review video