Solona Bay dock gets final approval

Despite apparent continued internal wrangling, Osoyoos town council gave final approval to the larger dock proposed for the Paradise Park RV Resort on Solona Bay.
At its June 2 meeting, council approved in principle a re-zoning to allow an enlarged dock, provided councillors got to visit the site to better understand the project and its context.
There was some concern from staff that a further public hearing might be appropriate since a representative of those in favour of the expansion conducted the site visit.
However, council decided to go ahead with adoption of the rezoning bylaw.
“We’ve spent quite a bit of time on this,” said Mayor Sue McKortoff on Monday. “We can’t get involved in the politics of the strata council.”
The new dock will be 30 metres long and include four side fingers. It will be able to accommodate 10 boats. The number of Paradise Park private buoys in the bay will drop from 25 to 15.
International lake forum here in October
The town of Osoyoos will kick in $5,000 plus free rent at the Sonora Centre for this fall’s Osoyoos Lake

Water Science Forum

The October 7-9 international event will focus attention on sustaining the ecological health of Osoyoos Lake and the entire Okanagan Basin. Of particular interest at this year’s meetings will be blue-green algae blooms and the feared infestation of zebra and quagga mussels.
The forum was held in Osoyoos in 2007 and again in 2011.

RDOS plans economic development

Osoyoos will contribute up to $8,500 as part of an economic development service proposed by the Regional District of Okanagan Simikameen.
The service will replace the previous ad hoc system of economic development grants from the RDOS grant-in-aid program.
The only project currently being considered as part of the service is the Okanagan Film Commission, which received about $30,000 for its work as facilitator for film production companies interested in using Okanagan locations.
The RDOS bylaw would see a maximum of $100,000 per year expended through the economic development program. The Osoyoos share if the maximum amount were used would be $8,500.

By Roy Wood