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South Okanagan Photos

Report from the Mayor

MLA John Slater, Director Allan Patton, Chief Clarence Louie, Donna Lomas, Regional Dean of OC, Chris Scott, Mel Woolley, Brian Titus and I met for a briefing prior to our meeting with Solicitor General Shirley Bond last week in Vancouver

Minister Bond was accompanied Tuesday by staff and Tedd Howard, Deputy Provincial Director Capital Projects and Chief Project Officer-Surrey Pre-Trial Expansion division of the Ministry of Public Safety.

OIB’s Chris Scott and Mel Woolley orchestrated an impressive Power-Point presentation in support of the OIB ‘shovel ready opportunity’ for the Province on a site at the south end of Senkulmen Business Enterprise Park with services in place and the flexibility to move roads as necessary to make the site meet the geometric foot-print desired by the Ministry and an adjacent educational facility located in Senkulmen.

All of us had an opportunity to make comments in support of the application. The Minister expressed admiration for the level of support demonstrated by our group presence.

Tedd Howard advised us that at present there are five applicants including OIB and that these applicants will likely become the short list. Lumby has conducted a referendum, Penticton has offered two sites, PIB has offered one site and Summerland has offered two sites. None of these sites are serviced; an obvious advantage for the OIB application.

Mr. Howard stated that there will be approximately 270 to 300 staff and FTE positions; a recommendation will be made to the Minister by end of May with a decision by July at the latest. Unfortunately there will be no opportunity to take advantage of our Courthouse and there is no hard evidence that we could expect a greater police presence. Broad political and community support is a definite ‘must’ for a community to be selected.

Some criteria for choosing the successful applicant are as follows:

  • Carbon footprint.
  • Availability of affordable housing for staff.
  • Serviced versus un-serviced.
  • Distance to Kelowna.
  • Proximity to an airport.
  • Desirability to enter into a 3P project with Partnerships BC.
  • Ability to complete by 2015.
  • Demonstration of political and community support of the facility.
  • Ability to team-up on education, reintegration and job training programs with an educational facility..

 

It is safe to state that our community partnership and site satisfies all the criteria which Mr. Howard articulated as being important. More importantly Chief Louie made a very strong point that placing the facility of Band land offers a unique opportunity for the Province and all of us to partner with the OIB and also creates a more positive environment for the aboriginal members incarcerated in BC which comprises 24% of the BC correctional population.

We left the meeting feeling that we place highest on the short-list at this time.

Director Patton and I flew to Victoria after the meeting.

Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. MLA Slater, Director Patton, Terry Underwood and I met with Minister Ida Chong Minister of Community and Rural Development. Minister Chong was accompanied by Assistant Deputy Minister Mike Furey and Glen Brown Executive Director of Local Government Infrastructure and Finance who also sits at the UBCM table to assist with determining successful applicants for grants.

I presented the introductory material prepared by Town Manager Tom Szalay  and Mr. Underwood supplied additional details. Director Patton provided support using the need for potable water to end water advisories for his constituents. Minister Chong advised us that the province has no additional money for projects other than those approved in 2010; she suggested that new money could be as far away as three to four years. I suggested that Phase III Water Twinning constituted a project with existing approval but was unsuccessful in that argument.

Minister Chong and Glen Brown suggested that we should apply for any one of three grants; the Innovation Fund, Strategic Priorities Fund and the Regionally Significant Project Fund. They recommended that our applications should focus on measurable outcomes, cleaner water, conservation and volume saved, the community’s ability to pay, the regional context and emphasize the environmental benefits.

It would be nice to state that we left that meeting with the same level of confidence we felt the previous day but that was not the case. However we are of the opinion that making a presentation at a meeting which included the person who assists the UBCM Executive in deciding who receives grant approval certainly constitutes value for the time and money spent visiting Victoria.