Committee October 27th 2014
Water Matters:
Director Electoral Area ‘C’, Allan Patton was in Chambers to discuss costs and funding of the potable water system at the ‘Loose Bay’ fruit pickers camp located beside Covert Farms; he reported that the water line and pump house is now in place thanks to the efforts of Greg Norton and the RDOS which has paid a lot of the costs. The Capital Costs are covered by Area ‘C’ Gas Tax.
The fluctuating costs for electrical power, Chlorine Injection to restore levels lost in transmission up the hill and staff time are estimated to be up to $5,000 per annum. The cost fluctuation is driven in part by the changes in rates set by Fortis BC.
It was noted by several of Council and Director Patton that the service provided to the pickers is now such that they will have washrooms, showers and drinking water thus satisfying one of the biggest complaints that causes pickers to camp along the Okanagan River within the Town. With respect to the request for the Town to waive water charges for one (1) year after project completion; Council was reluctant to make a financial decision and preferred to wait until a new Council and Rural Director have been elected.
RCMP Report:
Sgt. Ken Harrington attended Council to give his update on policing. The local detachment will be undergoing some changes with staff transfers taking place and the retirement of Sgt. Harrington. Present activities include enforcing the Motor Vehicle Act on Tuc el Nuit Drive, Black Sage Road and Fairview Road. The Sgt. noted that they have two ‘trouble’ houses under surveillance due to active drug transactions but he also advised Council that Oliver is no better or worse than many communities of similar size. This has resulted in considerable time being spent on specific criminal cases.
In closing the Sgt. told Council that the Town may see an increase in the size of the detachment building sometime between 2015 and 2017.
Councillor Doerr asked if RCMP Members could be introduced to Council and Sgt. Harrington suggested that individual Councillors could ‘Adopt’ a member and do “walk-abouts” in the community. This is especially useful for recent transferees.
Landfill & Multi Materials BC:
An RDOS Reycling coordinator Cameran Baughen was in attendance to request that Council express their options regarding using the land-fill as recycling depot. Council held a brief discussion but decided that keeping the present location at the land-fill will result in less recycling due to inconvenience both for residents and businesses. Council passed a resolution to be forwarded to the Regional District “that the RDOS move all recycling services at the land-fill to a local business downtown”.
Grant in Aid Application:
The Oliver Business Association was founded in 2010 to maximize Oliver’s potential; the OBA has successfully completed several projects since inception such as partnering with Desert Sun Counselling to raise funds, encouraging local shopping and teaming up with the Sagebrushers to beautify empty storefronts. One very important event the OBA has taken on has been ‘Christmas Light-up’ at the Town Hall coinciding with “Re-discover Downtown’ where local businesses are highlighted (5:00 to 7:00) and entertainment with fire-works at Oliver Community Center (7:00 to 8:00)
Secretary, Petra Veintimilla requested $2,000 primarily to cover loss of revenue due to the closing of some businesses in Oliver and also to allow OBA to pay its bills promptly rather than delaying payment until all membership dues are collected. Mayor Hovanes expressed his eagerness to continue with this tradition and Council agreed to a resolution to approve the funding request of $2,000 for one year and waive the reporting requirement.
Quarterly Financial Report – Third Quarter 2014
Chief Financial Officer, David Svetlichny presented Council with the Third Quarter Report. The report is very detailed and contains three pages explaining the present status of Town monies and six pages of Spread Sheets with respect to the Sewer Fund, Water Fund, and General Fund. However Mr. Svetlichny did not provide a summary paragraph which could be detailed here so it is recommended that readers connect to the Town’s Website using the following link https://oliver.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=49600 which will take you to the Web page where you can select the Committee Agenda for the 27th October.