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City Hall

High-risk water pipe on Dilworth fast-tracked for replacement

KELOWNA - A dodgy water main, the only water link for dozens of homes on top of Dilworth Mountain in Kelowna, is being replaced before something more serious happens than a burst pipe. “We had a complete failure a couple of months ago and when we looked at the pipe, pulled it out of the...

Kelowna city councillors to decide on name for new police station

KELOWNA - The proposed name for the new City of Kelowna police services building is just that, City of Kelowna Police Services. Kelowna city council are being asked to approve the name for the new police station on Clement Avenue, or come up with an alternative. The city is seeking a higher profile on the new...

What happens when your music becomes noise in Kelowna

KELOWNA - Nothing spurs political action like personal experience. When Kelowna city bylaw officers shut down a garden concert last weekend by local legends The Cruzeros, city councillor Charlie Hodge was in the front row. “It was not over the top. The didn’t even have the full band. There were no drums,” Hodge says. When...

Pet pig flies in Vernon; councillor asks what’s next?

VERNON - It was an unusual case that some city councillors fear might not be so uncommon any more. A Vernon family desperate to keep their pet pig Felix pleaded with city council for an exception to a bylaw prohibiting swine on city property — unless on designated farm land — and got their wish...

It’s taken 13 years but Central Green in Kelowna is starting to take shape

KELOWNA - It’s been 13 years since the school that once occupied the site known as Central Green closed down and now the second affordable housing project slated for the old Kelowna Secondary School grounds has began construction. Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society and the Ministry of Housing broke ground on the $16-million project this week. The...

No busting the Kelowna buskers: Play on, city says

SECURITY MADE ERROR TELLING YOUNG MAN TO MOVE ON FROM PIANO IN THE PARK KELOWNA - Maybe he just doesn’t like the piano. A young man playing the piano in Stuart Park was asked to move along on Canada Day after a security guard hired by the city to patrol the area came along and...

City borrows $57 milllion for cop shop, parkade construction

KELOWNA - The city has signed on the dotted line, borrowing $57 million to fund the construction of the RCMP police service building and the construction and expansion of the Memorial and Library Parkades. Construction of the 100,000-square-foot police services building by contractor Bird Design-Build has yet to break ground on the site at Clement...

Kelowna makes a push outdoors

KELOWNA - Even locals don’t know all the best places to hike, swim and bike — that’s the premise behind the Active By Nature campaign, which will use advanced route signage, a video and an interactive website to promote Kelowna’s outdoor infrastructure. “A proven and effective way to inform residents about our network and to...

Wine and fruit waste prompts Kelowna treatment facility upgrade

KELOWNA - The city is looking at upgrading the Brandt’s Creek Trade Waste Treatment facility in a bid to reduce the amount of biosolids it produces and the cost of hauling them away. Staff are recommending the city pay $450,000 for a centrifuge to be installed at the facility located in the North End industrial...

Old Western Star plant could soon meet the wrecker’s ball

KELOWNA - The last vestiges of Western Star Trucks, a manufacturing success story in Kelowna, could soon be meeting the wreckers ball. Owner of the site on Enterprise Way, 3752 Investments Ltd., has applied for a permit to raze the former Western Star truck and replace it with a Lowes home improvement store and garden...

Kelowna wants to boost walking and cycling

KELOWNA - A push to get more residents making trips on foot or on a bike will be enshrined in a pedestrian and bicycle master plan after city council endorsed a staff proposal this week. In a report to council, transportation manager Moudud Hasan says the goal is to leverage the increases already achieved since...

Temporary public art program ruffles some feathers on Kelowna council

KELOWNA - A proposal for a trial temporary art installation program divided city councillors despite the relatively modest price tag of $15,000. For that sum, the temporary art in public places pilot program would deliver one piece of art, installed at a yet-to-be-decided location, which will be gone in six months, then returned to the...

Prospect of liquor stores inside grocery stores prompts Kelowna bylaw review

KELOWNA - No one has even asked yet about putting a liquor store inside a Kelowna grocery store but planning staff will be asking city council if it wants to shore up its zoning bylaw to regulate them. “Right now we have five locations where there is already a retail liquor store on the same...

City moves to revamp public sign bylaw

KELOWNA - In the face of changing tastes and technology the City of Kelowna could soon deal with signs in a different way. City council is directing staff to revamp its sign bylaw, but they expect plenty of consultation with business owners and other stakeholders. “Signage is important to everyone really. The city gets a...

Kelowna bell-ringing ceremony to honour missing and murdered aboriginal women

KELOWNA - The bells will be ringing in Kelowna this weekend, 1,122 times to be exact. A request by The Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels on Sutherland Avenue to ring its bell multiple times this Sunday has been approved by city council. The symbolic ringing of the bell on June 21, National Aboriginal...

Kelowna firefighters sign seven-year labour agreement

KELOWNA - Firefighters and adminstrative staff with the Kelowna Fire Department will enjoy a series of raises after signing a new collective agreement with the City of Kelowna. Firefighters have been without a contract since the end of 2012 but on Monday, June 15 the local firefighters union and the City of Kelowna ratified an...

Kelowna seeks federal cash to upgrade City Park promenade

KELOWNA - A section of the popular promenade through City Park could be in line for a serious upgrade should the city successfully secure a grant from the federal Canada 150 community infrastructure program. Parks planning manager Terry Barton recommended to city council today, June 15, an application be made for the maximum grant of...

Kelowna church asks for noise bylaw exemption for bell-ringing marathon

KELOWNA - If Kelowna city council gives the okay, the bell at The Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels will toll over 1,000 times, once for each of the missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada. The church is asking the city to temporarily set aside its noise bylaw beginning 11:30 a.m. on...

Kelowna man says police arrested him for nudity they had tolerated many times before

KELOWNA - A Kelowna man says RCMP, anxious to keep a lid on the party scene at Mushroom Beach, arbitrarily arrested him for public nudity after walking by ignoring the sunbathers many times before. Mushroom Beach is the nickname for what the city calls the Lake Avenue beach access and has become increasingly popular with...

Ethel Street cycle track separates bikes from cars and pedestrians

KELOWNA - A determined cycist could cover the first phase of the Ethel Street active transportation corridor in about two minutes but the construction of a new cycle track between Bernard Avenue and Saucier Avenue will be welcomed by local cyclists. Construction on the corridor begins this month and will continue in phases until 2020...

Knox Mountain disc golfers score deal with city

KELOWNA - If disc golf is gaining popularity as a sport it’s because of guys like Ryan Derksen. Despite the rain this week, the young man from Saskatchewan was chucking discs at far-off holes, enjoying a solo practice round at the Knox Mountain Park disc golf course. “I played in Calgary yesterday. Whenever I travel...

Community gardens get big green thumbs up in Kelowna

KELOWNA - Better support for community gardens, both public and private, can happen if there is a better understanding of what food security means for the community.  City staff hope to provide a better understanding by amending the food security policy in the official community plan and the zoning bylaw.  “This is turning a landscape...