Penticton council has endorsed a plan to relocate the waterfront fire pit located in front of the Lakeshore Drive Towers to Lakawana Park near the intersection of Power Street and Lakeshore Drive.
The location already has one fire pit which will be re-situated in order to make room for the second pit. The two will be about 80 metres apart.
The move comes after residents in the towers complained to council about nighttime noise in the area, including that from fire pit users — the building is also situated near two popular nightclubs.
According to the city’s director of operations Mitch Moroziuk, city staff looked at five different locations, including one near the SS Sicamous, however, the Lakawana Park location met the city’s criteria best.
“Those criteria included access for the fire department and the RCMP; public access; the availability of parking; clear visibility from the roadway; and safe distances from fire hazards,” said Moroziuk.
According to public works manager Len Robson, the relocation of the fire pits will require little manpower and equipment to accomplish.
“The financial costs are negligible and can be dealt with within the confines of the existing operational budget,” Robson reported.
Only Coun. Dan Albas voted against relocating the fire pit to Lakawana Park, explaining that he has concerns about the decision process.
“I think there are probably a lot of people in the surrounding area that we haven’t consulted with,” he said.
Furthermore, Albas said he does not think the first pit should even be there, let alone the second.
“I was hoping to discontinue that fire pit altogether,” said Albas. “Being next to Lakawana Park, there are a lot of kids that are playing nearby and (with) smoke and all of that sort of stuff, I am just not convinced it’s a great location for it.”
Coun. John Vassilaki disagreed.
“Most of the late afternoon and early evening it is mostly the kids that use those fire pits,” he said.
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