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City Hall
Utilty rate increases gets water users coming and going
KELOWNA - They get you if you pour or flush. Kelowna city council has approved a two per cent increase in rates for both city water and waste water utilities. Beginning in May, rates for customers drawing city water — about half the businesses and houses in Kelowna — will climb about $.59 a month...
City keeps cultural incubator cooking, gives out cash grants
KELOWNA - If there was an elephant in the room, Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran addressed it directly. “A lot of times people think ‘there goes the city spending money on culture’ without having the complete picture of what creative culture does for our community,” said the Mayor, as council received a report outlining $180,000 in...
City doing swimmingly despite economic uncertainty
KELOWNA - The rest of the world may be in financial turmoil, but Kelowna continues to do fine, at least as measured by our performance as a community last quarter. “There is lots of volatility in the global economic climate,” the city’s community planning director Doug Gilchrist told council, while presenting them with positive numbers...
Councillor Hodge bounces back, shrugs off lung infection
KELOWNA – Coun. Charlie Hodge was back in his chair at Kelowna city council Monday afternoon after being hospitalized for pneumonia last week. “Once you get here it’s like sitting at your kitchen table,” said Hodge, who added he was just glad to be back. “It knocked the wind out of me that’s for sure."...
City councillor Hodge could be out of hospital this weekend
KELOWNA – City councillor Charlie Hodge is on the mend and could be released from hospital soon, says his wife Teresa Hodge, although it’s not clear when he will return to work. "Charlie is slowly feeling better and we hope he can come home very soon,” she says. "Doctor will decide when he is ready...
Kelowna councillor in hospital with lung infection
KELOWNA - Kelowna city councillor Charlie Hodge has been admitted to Kelowna General Hospital suffering from pneumonia. The two-term councillor’s confirmed his condition on his Facebook page, saying the infection was confined to his lower left lung and that a CT scan had shown there were no blood clots. Hodge is also known to suffer...
Say good-bye to confusing rail crossings with completion of CN Rail corridor purchase
KELOWNA - The CN Rail corridor purchase will be defined in Kelowna by what it gains — a multi-use transportation corridor — and what it loses — a bunch of annoying level crossings on local roads. “CN has an obligation to remove the railway ties and remediate the land,” said Doug Gilchrist, director of community...
Parking the tipping point for micro-suite apartment approval
KELOWNA - For such small suites, Kelowna city council has some big problems with a high-density apartment building proposed for Dickson Avenue near the Landmark complex. Designs submitted by the developer Dickson Avenue Holdings call for 90 suites, about half of which would be 29 square metres with one parking space included for each unit....
Firefighters to get new ride after council approves truck replacement
KELOWNA - Looking to buy a fire engine? Get ready for some sticker shock and a lengthy wait because it turns out buying one of the specialized emergency response vehicles is nothing like buying a new car. “You can’t just walk into a dealership and buy a fire truck,” says Larry Hollier, deputy chief of...
Tax axe nowhere in sight as city council approves increase
KELOWNA - After a day spent hearing submissions, Kelowna city councillors are considering a potential property tax increase of 3.46 per cent, down a touch from what staff originally recommended in a budget year dominated by increases to police services and a new building to house them. Mayor Colin Basran led city councillors — some...
Budget squeeze won’t stop construction crush
KELOWNA — The new $48-million RCMP police services building is casting a large shadow over this year’s municipal budget, with staff warning of the possible chilling effect on other capital projects. But don’t expect the the seemingly endless parade of construction projects over the last few years to let up much, at least if Kelowna...
Road rush by developers could push South Perimeter to top of list
TRAFFIC RELIEF FOR THE MISSION? KELOWNA — Kelowna city councillors have paved the way for the so-called South Perimeter Road to jump ahead of other roadways projects in the Mission by authorizing staff to accelerate its design and begin negotiations with property developers pushing for the project. Property developers approached council in the fall about...
Appeal court sinks houseboater’s legal challenge
WEST KELOWNA — Mayor Doug Findlater is savouring the latest B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that again backs the district’s right to govern live-aboard houseboats moored off its shores. “It’s been a long, long, battle, over seven years,” he said of the precedent-setting case that pitted local government against houseboat-owners intent on mooring long-term in...
Hollywood spotlight shines on Enderby City Hall this Friday
ENDERBY - It’s lights, camera, action for Enderby City Hall this Friday. The municipal office will be closed for the day while film crews shoot interior shots for the movie Go With Me, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles and Ray Liotta. The city’s answering service will monitor calls and forward them to the appropriate...
Diverse-abilities on display at City Hall
KELOWNA – A line of people stood together outside City Hall Wednesday raising awareness for issues still faced by those in our city who have disabilities. The rally, called the Pathways Inclusion Chain, was organized by Pathways Abilities Society, a 61-year-old group started by a handful of parents in 1953. It has since grown to...
DeHart to seek second term on council
KELOWNA – Another councillor has announced she will be on the ballot again this November. Maxine DeHart is the third and most recent sitting councillor to declare her intentions to run as an incumbent in the municipal election next month. In a media release, DeHart says she will focus her campaign on continuing the work...
City says low apartment availability no cause for alarm
“IT’S JUST THE MARKET DOING WHAT THE MARKET DOES.” KELOWNA – A recent survey on Canadian rental markets lists Kelowna as being among the worst for finding an apartment, but Kelowna’s long range planning department is not worried. Planning manager Gary Stephen says although there hasn’t been a lot of rentals built in the last...
The price to park goes up at many meters around Kelowna
KELOWNA – A 150 per cent increase in on-street parking fees comes into effect today, but the city says many meters won’t be adjusted for several more weeks. Plans to raise the rates were announced in January, with council voting to raise prices for the first time in 20 years. As of today, the cost...