Blogs

As noted in a previous posting, we are having a light year for horses on the West Bench.  Some residents have therefore posed a reasonable question: Why would we build an expensive fence if the horse problem is solved?

Ultimately this will go to some kind of voter assent process (likely a referendum) so you will be asked to decide this question for yourself.  But a couple of things to consider:

A deal is being formalized between the Province of BC and the RDOS to take over operation and maintenance of the Sage Mesa water system.  See the update under the Sage Mesa water system.

I voted against a proposal by the Okanagan Gleaners to subdivide agricultural property in Oliver. See the Western story and my comment for more information about this.

Much has been said recently about water in the Okanagan Basin.  I was appointed to sit on the Okanagan Basin Water Board  as part of my external committee work and have learned much in the past year.

A number of residents on Sage Mesa's Verano Place are concerned that the fire hydrant on their street is not what it appears to be.  That is, the fire hydrant was installed by Sage Mesa Water Co. a few years back in order to take advantage of road work by the provincial Ministry of Transportation.  However, the large-capcity water line to service the fire hydrant is not yet in place (see the letter from the Sage Mesa Water Co. for more information).

The following is my response to inquiries from some very concerned residents:

The following cartoon from Ken Stewart appeared in my RDOS mail box.  Click on the image for a full-sized scan.

The recent conflict between the City of Vernon, Coldstream, and two neighboring electoral areas of the North Okanagan Regional District should be of interest as ratepayers in the West Bench irrigation district consider an extraterritorial service provided by the City of Penticton.  The basic issue in Vernon is that the shared utility, Greater Vernon Water, is responsible for both supply and distribution of treated water to all four political entities.  However, the whole arrangement is on the verge of unraveling due to differences in opinion regarding distribution in the rural and non-rural areas.  Central supply seems to be okay with everyone.  See the news stories here and here.

I sent the following email to Penticton Mayor Dan Ashton regarding two-tiered user fees for recreational assets owned by the City of Penticton:

-----Original Message-----
From: "Michael Brydon"
To: "Dan Ashton"
Subject: Two-tiered recreation fees

Hi Dan,

I was just catching up on my reading following a couple of weeks of vacation and was alarmed to read a story in the Herald (12 Mar, 2009) about the City of Penticton "scrambling" to implement a two-tiered recreation fee. I inherited a binder from Ron Perrie entitled "Sub-Regional Recreation" that discusses the current situation in which 23% of those who register for programs with the City of Penticton's Recreation Department are not residents of the City. Documents in the binder argues for "fairness" in shouldering the burden of subsidies for these programs.

The RDOS recently followed the lead of other regional districts in the Okanagan and awarded a grant to the Okanagan Film Commission.  I am against such grants/subsidies for many reasons.  But the most important is that the economic impact of film production in the Okanagan is negligible.  Indeed, the economic impact of the entire tourism sector is much smaller than most people realize.

I collected some census data and submitted a report to the RDOS board in order to back up these claims.  The full report can be found here, although the central argument is captured in the graphic below