Plans for underground Hydro service on an Armstrong street have been buried.
The city hoped to removed eight Hydro poles from Okanagan Street during an underground beautification project slated for 2015, and had hoped to secure funds in an application to B.C. Hydro’s underground beautification funding.
When a response from Hydro advised the estimated budget cost to remove the poles would be between $396,000 and $484,000, staff went back to its original plan.
“It’s unfortunate we can’t get rid of the poles but it’s roughly $80,000 to remove each of them,” said Coun. Paul Britton.
Coun. Kelly Rowe said at last week’s meeting staff recommended leaving the poles above ground, and including only the approved scope and budgets for Okanagan Street in the capital infrastructure upgrading plan.
“That means a water main replacement and road restoration,” said Rowe.
Sidewalk issue
The city will not resurface a downtown sidewalk that some residents insist is in “deplorable condition.”
Eight residents signed a letter to the city asking that the sidewalk on Patterson Avenue that extends Patterson Street to the Kindale property west of Okanagan Street be completely resurfaced.
“It has been patched many times, giving it a rough, bumpy surface,” wrote the residents. “Daily, it is used by people walking to work and others with push carts or on exercise outings. We feel it needs complete resurfacing.”
The city, however, says it’s not economically feasible to install a new sidewalk over an old water main that will require replacement in the future.
“We recommend continuing to inspect and maintain this section of the sidewalk keeping it as safe as possible under the condition it is currently in,” said public works manager Tim Perepolkin.
Council unanimously supported the staff recommendation.
Bursary criteria change
Grade 12 students at Pleasant Valley Secondary School hoping to earn the annual $500 Chris Pieper Bursary no longer have to be contemplating a particular field of post-secondary study interest.
In the past, priority has been given to a student entering an agricultural or forestry field of study.
“We kicked around the idea of making it a little less specific so that down the road, should there be no agricultural or forest applicants, we can follow the recommendations of the bursaries we give away,” said outgoing Coun. John Trainor, chairperson of the city’s finance committee.
The city administers two $500 bursaries to graduating PVSS students: the Chris Pieper Bursary and the Betty Atkinson Bursary.
No support
The city will not support a motion from the Regional District of North Okanagan asking member municipalities and electoral areas to send a letter to B.C. Timber Sales requesting a moratorium on road development and logging on Cherry Ridge until a watershed assessment is completed.
“This is the small business program in the small business development area that has gone through five years of development programs, silviculture reports and engineering reports,” said Mayor Chris Pieper. “Lumby and Cherryville want a further study on this. But the ministry of forests doesn’t take risks that I’m aware of so I personally won’t support this.”
Coun. John Trainor seconded Pieper’s words.
“We should take the lead from the mayor who spent much of his adult life working in the wood industry,” said Trainor.
Council unanimously supported Trainor’s motion to receive and file the request for support.
