Water meters are coming

Mayor Sue McKortoff made it clear Monday that water meters are coming for residential and commercial users in the town.

The change will mean residents and businesses will pay for their water based on how much they use.

“People need to learn to use water responsibly,” she said.

A study by staff of the details and implications of installing meters will be presented to council, likely in September.

McKortoff wouldn’t speculate on the impact on users, but pointed out that after the Town of Oliver installed meters, some lawns tended to get browner in summer as people restricted their use of water.

Oliver instituted water metering in 2009. At the time, a letter to water users said, in part: “Water meters will provide our customers a fair and equitable payment system that is based on the principle of “user pay.”

McKortoff pointed out that the town can’t apply for federal or provincial grants involving water projects as long as it doesn’t have a water meter system.

Dog must be leashed in parks

In response to a spate of incidents involving dogs off-leash in parks, Osoyoos Town Council has toughened the dogs bylaw.

In a report to council, Chief Administrative Officer Barry Romanko said the current bylaw requires dogs be “on a leash or under the care and control of the owner.”

However, he added, “Due to several incidents whereby the dog got away from the owner and had no leash, this provision is being changed to require leashes at all times.”

Other changes to the bylaw include making it clear that dogs are not allowed at Cottonwood Beach. Dogs will still be allowed at Cottonwood Park, but only on a leash.

“We need people to be responsible dog owners. This is just one more way,” said Mayor Sue McKortoff.

Rhodes named museum liaison

Councillor CJ Rhodes has been appointed liaison between Town Council and the Osoyoos museum board.

Board president Mat Hassen, in a letter to council, asked that someone from the town be appointed as a primary point of contact for the museum in its dealings with the town.

“This will help to ensure the proper lines of communication and reduce the chance (of) misunderstandings,” he wrote.

The museum recently suffered a setback in its plans to redevelop and move into the Home Building Centre building on Main Street. The timetable has been revised to see the museum take over in 2020 rather than next fall as earlier planned.

Osprey live-feed views soar

Mayor Sue McKortoff told Town Council on Monday that there have been more than 17,000 views of the osprey nest featured on the town website. www.osoyoos.ca

The nest was built on a Fortis power pole near the elementary school. Fortis de-energized the pole to protect the birds and a camera was mounted on a nearby pole. The adult pair are currently sitting on eggs in the nest.

People from as far away as Vietnam and Nicaragua have viewed the live-streaming video.