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City Of Kelowna

Hefty Kelowna property tax increase resting on contract obligations, mayor says

KELOWNA - Mayor Colin Basran would love to pare down the 4.11 per cent tax property tax increase council is considering but says they don’t have much room to move. Basran says the combined costs of recent union contracts with city workers and firefighters, plus initial borrowing cots for the new police station, all contractual...

Warm weather leaving puddles on Stuart Park rink

KELOWNA - The unseasonably warm weather of the last few days has resulted in pools of water developing on the outdoor rink at Stuart Park, threatening the popular facility with daytime closure. “That’s been the pattern that we’ve seen over the last few years, especially in the early or late season,” arenas supervisor Steve Fagan...

Vibrant town centres critical to Kelowna’s future

KELOWNA - Town centres are the jewels of a city, where population and employment are dense and amenities and services make the area liveable. Kelowna has five town centres and the city is counting on them to both help counter the urban sprawl that characterized earlier development and to anchor future growth. This week city...

Quadriplegic man fighting Kelowna city hall for right to park in his own yard

KELOWNA – A Kelowna family wants to be able to park their wheel chair accessible van in their front yard but the City of Kelowna insists they need to apply for a costly bylaw variance to do so. A petition has been started in an effort to “eliminate” the need for a variance to allow...

Glenmore could finally get long-awaited recreation park

KELOWNA - It was first recommended almost 30 years ago but only now could Glenmore get a new park. City of Kelowna planning staff want council to spend $5 million to build the first phase of a recreation park — think playing fields and ball diamonds, not flowers and rock gardens — on city-owned land...

Kelowna councillor frustrated with RCMP communication

SUPERINTENDENT HASN'T TAKEN QUESTIONS AT A COUNCIL MEETING IN OVER A YEAR KELOWNA - A city councillor says he’s surprised and a little disappointed the Kelowna RCMP have not appeared at a public council meeting to take questions since the new council was sworn in over a year ago. City councillor Ryan Donn says RCMP...

Kelowna start-up has social conscience built right in

KELOWNA - Local non-profits are jumping on a new interactive web platform called Volinspire, the product of a new local start-up created as one of the province’s first community contribution companies. Volinspire unveiled their new interactive web platform in Kelowna yesterday, Dec. 4. “The idea began with wanting to help young people find volunteer opportunities...

Parkinson recreation centre replacement could cost $50 million

KELOWNA - City staff are recommending the deluxe version for a replacement of Parkinson Recreation Centre with a $50-million price tag. However, staff also say the city should explore with the Central Okanagan school district the possibility of developing a facility integrated with the new high school the district is proposing across the field from...

Vacancy rate eases as Kelowna pushes rental housing construction

KELOWNA - The city has done a lot to encourge development of rental housing and there’s not too much more that can be done, except to let the incentives do their work and keep on pushing for more. That’s the opinion of Luke Stack, a city councillor and also executive director of the Society of...

East Kelowna farm earns council support for distillery and weddings

KELOWNA - An agri-tourism operation on a small plot of farm land in East Kelowna got a rare endorsement from city council this week, despite plans to include weddings and a distillery. Kristi and James Caldwell requested council support for their application to the Agriculatural Land Commision to allow a portion of their land to...

Information services seeks budget increase from city

KELOWNA - Information technology is no longer a support service but a full-fledged business unit at City Hall and needs a budget increase to accommodate both current demand and future needs. That’s the message information services manager Rob Entwistle brought to Kelowna city council during an overview of the city’s digital strategy. “We are known as...

Over-heating pumps threaten water service in the Mission

KELOWNA - A faulty pump motor is forcing the City of Kelowna to spend $300,000 on an additional pump for the Cedar Creek lake intake. Failure to do so, could leave parts of the Mission and the South Slopes without drinking water and fire protection service, utility planning manager Andrew Reeder says, in a report...

IT department prepares for digital future at City Hall

KELOWNA - The City of Kelowna is moving to bolster information technology and lessen the risk of future redundancy, data breaches and possible failure of key systems, says a new report. Information services manager Rob Entwistle, in a report to council, says the department is moving ahead in four of 19 areas identified in its...

Work begins on new dike for Mission Creek restoration in Kelowna

KELOWNA - City crews have taken the first step in reversing decades of misguided management of Mission Creek in Kelowna. The first phase of the Mission Creek Restoration Initiative began this week with the closing of the creek’s south dike between Casorso Road and Gordon Drive, according to a city media release. With creek waters...

Popular rink to open next week in Stuart Park

KELOWNA - Crews have begun making ice at the popular Stuart Park outdoor rink in Kelowna with opening planned for next week. City crews will be working afternoon shifts from 4 p.m. to midnite at Stuart Park over the next few days readying the rink for an opening Tuesday, Dec. 1, according to arenas supervisor...

One year in, new Kelowna councillors are finding their groove

KELOWNA - It’s been a year since three brand new members joined Kelowna city council and while they don’t agree on everything, they do agree on one thing — it’s been a fast ride. “It went by in a blink of an eye,” Coun. Brad Sieben says. “It seems like just yesterday we were planting...

Downtown Kelowna alley an ‘untapped resource’

KELOWNA - Currently home to illegally parked cars and overflowing garbage cans, a stretch of downtown alleyway could soon be delighting locals and visitors alike if plans to beautify it get council approval. Councillors gushed over a staff proposal aiming to beautify a chunk of the lane off Bernard Avenue across from The Sails with...

First year a lesson in time management for Kelowna mayor

KELOWNA - It’s been just over a year now since Colin Basran grabbed the mayor’s chair in a convincing election win. While Basran had already completed a term as city councillor, he says it barely prepared him for the complexities of working as a full-time civic leader. “The sheer volume of invitations to events is...

Kelowna scraps policy of paying for political forums

KELOWNA - A long-standing policy of providing a free venue for an all-candidates forum during municipal elections has been dropped by city council. Deputy city clerk Karen Needham told council today, Nov. 23, at their regular weekly morning meeting, the policy stems from 1976 when council granted a request for a grant-in-aid by the Kelowna...

Makeover in the works for downtown Kelowna alley

KELOWNA - A stretch of downtown Kelowna alleyway could soon get a permanent, big city make-over. Real estate services manager John Saufferer, in a report to Kelowna city council, is recommending the city turn the stretch of alley near The Sails off Bernard Avenue, into what amounts to an urban park. “The Bernard Avenue laneway...