Finding money at the RDOS is getting harder as Challenge Penticton found out Thursday.

The owners of the race franchise Kevin Cutjar and Michael Brown presented a slideshow at the Regular Board meeting but met some resistance when it came to the question of a three year sponsorship deal.

Legally civic government cannot assist a business but sometimes the rules are twisted and government will give a grant in aid, create a line item or find a reason to provide cash for economic development.

Penticton Challenge is August 30 so I doubt monies can be found for this year.

The organizers asked for $14,000 in each of three years 2016, 2017 and 2018 – with an additional 2 thousand in each of the last two years plus a bonus of another $2000 in the final year.

Penticton and rural areas around it – Naramata, West Bench and OK Falls support the idea with leaders in Princeton, Keremeos, Osoyoos and Oliver a bit skeptical about any economic spin-offs from a one day race
centred in Penticton.

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A Heritage Plan for the RDOS was supposed to be adopted by the Board on Thursday after a morning final showing of the planning document by consultants Denise Cook and James Burton. It’s back to the planning department for another review. Manager Mark Woods says the plan must be tweaked a bit before it comes for final approval. The plan talks to significant heritage sites but concentrates on how to manage all of the areas designated in a vast region.

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A $123 thousand contract has been let to Grizzly Excavating (only bidder) to de-commission the West Bench water pump house. The pump site off Falcon Place.

All water for the West Bench is now supplied by the City of Penticton – and the old infrastructure that pipes from the river must be ripped out and the river channel surface re-established.