The City of Kelowna is focusing on serving its residents remotely in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Effective March 20 at 4 p.m., the city is closing several facilities to public drop-in, including the following:
- City hall is closed to the public, except by appointment. Call 250-469-8500.
- Monday, March 23 City Council meeting will go ahead as scheduled and the public is encouraged to listen online here.
- Development services and building permits is closed to the public, except by appointment. Call 250-469-8960 or email developmentservicesinfo@kelowna.ca.
- Planning services is closed to the public, except by appointment. Call 250-469-8626 or email planninginfo@kelowna.ca.
- Business licensing is closed to the public, except by appointment. Call 250-469-8617
- Bylaw services office is closed to the public, except by appointment. Call 250-469-8686.
- All fire halls are closed to the public. Fire hall 1 (Enterprise Way) will be open for permits, by appointment only. Call 250-469-8801.
- City yards are closed to the public, except by appointment. Call 250-828-3461.
- Human resources is closed to the public, except by appointment. Call 250-469-8528.
- Purchasing is closed to the public, except by appointment. Call 250-469-8530 or email purchasing@kelowna.ca.
- Wastewater treatment plant is closed to the public.
- Memorial Park Cemetery office is closed to the public, except by appointment. Call 250-828-3461. The park remains open between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. seven days a week.
- The 10 recreation facilities announced on Tuesday remain closed to the public. They can be reached at 250-807-4300.
- All parks remain open however people are required to practice social distancing.
Services will continue to be available by phone and email during regular business hours.
The Kelowna International Airport (YLW), RCMP detachment front counters and Glenmore Landfill scale house remain open and city yards warehouse will stay open for deliveries. As of Monday, March 23, the City will only accept non-cash payments to help streamline services and reduce interactions.
YLW terminal and administration office will also to be open to the public and live chat is available at ylw.kelowna.ca.
Residents are encouraged to use online services and our service request system when possible. While not all city services are offered online, residents and business owners can do things such as; view utility bills, request an inspection, apply for various permits, register a bylaw infraction, report graffiti, listen to council meetings, participate in online public engagement exercises and more.
Safe work procedures are in place for staff who continue to interact with the public, including social distancing and enhanced cleaning at all city facilities. Several city staffers have also chosen to self isolate.
“The City of Kelowna continues to follow the advice of the BC Chief Medical Health Officer and will make updates to service delivery as required. The city’s critical response team is continuing to advance business continuity plans to ensure the ongoing delivery of key critical services and is working with our regional partners on advance planning scenarios to support provincial and regional efforts,” says Risk Manager Lance Kayfish.
You can access city services online by visiting kelowna.ca/onlineservices.
READ MORE: Line forms as Kelowna’s Superstore only lets in 500 at a time due to COVID-19
READ MORE: Flight reductions at YLW due to COVID-19 concerns
@michaelrdrguezmichael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.