Rails with Trails Phase II officially opened on June 7, 2014. Hon. Steve Thomson, Mayor Walter Gray, Senator Nancy Greene Raine, and Rhona Martin (UBCM) did the honors of cutting the ribbon. A good crowd was on hand to walk and ride the new section of trail. Phase II connects Spall Road to Dilworth Road. The budget was $4.5 million dollars. This cost was shared equally by the Federal Government, the Provincial Government (Gas tax,) and the City of Kelowna. Kelowna is clearly making headway in becoming more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. There is now 19.2 Kilometers of off-road bike trails in the City of Kelowna. Progress!
The Society of Hope has the honor of building 70 new rental homes in the north-end of Kelowna B.C. The Society won the Request for Proposal that was issued by BC Housing and the in the fall of 2013. The Society will be building a new apartment complex to replace the 50 existing senior's units at the site. Current tenants will be offerred a new unit.
Hope will then add 20 new family townhomes to the site. All the units will be rental housing. Future residents will have the opportunity to apply for S.A.F.E.R. subsidies and rental assistance through the R.A.P. program operated by BC Housing. This development is targeted to complete in November of 2015. This project is made possible through the cooperative efforts of BC Housing, The Pleasantvale Housing Society, The Rotary Club of Kelowna, The City of Kelowna, and the Society of Hope. Special thanks to Juliet Anderton Consulting, Norr Architecture and VanMar Developers for the amazing work they do in bringing this exciting project to market.
Working together with all levels of government is an important part of any politician's job. Many City of Kelowna projects (Bridges, pathways, parks, etc.) are only accomplished through funding partnerships with both the Federal and Provincial Governments. It is important to connect regularly and to build strong relationships. We are very fortunate in Kelowna to have an excellent working relationship between our MP Ron Cannan, our three MLA's Hon. Premier Christy Clark, Hon. Minister Steve Thomson and Hon. Minister Norm Letnick. On this note I attended the Liberal Convention Party in Kelowna. The theme was "How The West Was Won." Anne and I are pictured here with the Premier at the Saturday night "Shin-dig." We are always impressed with how very warm and friendly the Premier is. It has been great having her represent Westside-Kelowna. (Downtown Kelowna is in her Riding. Approximatly 30,000 Kelowna citizens are in her riding.)
The Kelowna City Council elected in 2011 has now completed two and a half years of its mandate. The Mayor and Council continues to work well together and has made significant progress on the Pandosy Waterfront, completing the Bernard Avenue revitalization, launching a new public pier off Queensway, completing the new Senior's Centre at Parkinson's and simplifying secondary suite approvals. I am pictured here in front of my Council seat in Council chambers. Its now a race to the finish line. We are working diligently to advance our priorities before the 2014 fall election.
by Wayne Moore | Story: 114529 - May 6, 2014 / 6:07 am (edited by Luke Stack)
Photo: Trevor Rockliffe
Cedar Park is about to get a major face lift. Council voted for more parkland for the South Pandosy waterfront on Monday. Kelowna City Council went against the advice of staff and went with an option that includes nearly twice as much parkland for the waterfront in the area of Abbott Street and Walnut Avenue. The controversial project has been on various council's radar for several years before being put on hold three years ago.
Two proposals came out of a city commissioned charrette held in February.
Staff supported Option four which included 5,740 square metres of parkland. After the sale of several properties for a mixed commercial development, it would come in with a profit of more than $400,000.(Which would have paid for the new park)
Council went with option one which included 10,810 square metres of parkland with a potential taxpayer cost of $2M. Council also voted against selling the two northern most city owned properties on Abbott for $1.7M. The money raised by the sale would have helped to offset the cost of the park.
Council's decision also went against one of its eight parameters, financial viability. (Which is why I originally supported option 4, the City would be in a position to proceed much sooner with the park development - Both options produced a beautiful, vibrant park for the Pandosy area.)
Photo: Trevor Rockliffe