John Powell had worked in Okanagan Falls as Economic Development Officer for five years. Powell has been associated with Community Futures and the SO Chamber of Commerce.
His Economic Development position terminated. Employment lost. Plans a foot.
Powell and Area D Director Tom Siddon did not return electronic communication yesterday.
Siddon stated early in August that the Okanagan Falls office would be restructured – becoming more responsive to local needs – a one-stop-shop.
Denise Melenka, rural area clerk will work out of the office and she says the need for Economic Development has diminished and that Siddon wants a complete rural service format.
The Regional District Okanagan Similkameen is looking for a Rural Services Manager reporting to Mark Woods, Community Services Manager. That new position would occupy the space in OK Falls as well.
Position: To facilitate all Area “D” community initiatives; identifying and fostering development opportunities; securing funding for Area “D” development activities and programs; ensuring public input into development plans and projects; and administering and monitoring community empowerment initiatives. The successful incumbent will supervise recreation, administrative, and tourism office personnel to ensure community goals and requirements are met.
To the best of our knowledge this issue not discussed or reported on at the RDOS board and ODN hopes to gather more information on the “shake-up” shortly.
Today the final go ahead on a governance review for OK Falls and Area D. The area is broad with Apex, Kaleden, Twin Lakes, Okanagan Falls, Vaseux, Heritage Hills and even a slice of the Penticton area on the north east corner.
In March – Powell quoted as saying: “The nature of my job requires me to regularly travel to meet with clients and attend meetings throughout the working week. This unfortunately means that I have to lock the office during the work day. I apologies for the inconvenience this may cause you. To improve my service to you, I would like to encourage anyone that wants to meet with me, to please call or email me (see below) in advance to arrange an appointment.
If you want to discuss items raised in this article further, find out more about the role of the economic development office, talk about the work I’m currently doing, get assistance with RDOS-related matters or other related questions, please contact John Powell”
Late in July – Siddon quoted as saying: “Restructuring the Okanagan Falls Office ~ As some of you may
have heard, we’ve decided to reorganize the function and purpose of the RDOS office located in the IGA shopping centre in downtown Okanagan Falls. For the past several years, this office has been largely
devoted to promoting economic development under the capable leadership of John Powell, following the closure of the Weyerhaueser mill in 2007.
We’re now moving toward a more comprehensive and locally responsive form of service delivery, using the Okanagan Falls office as a “one stop shop” for a range of community programs and services within Area ‘D’; these will include matters of land use, community development, seniors services, transit and transportation,tourism, parks and recreation, public safety and other services asneeded.
Presently RDOS Human Resources is searching for a well-qualified individual to manage the Rural Services Office in Okanagan Falls…..
Words of Appreciation to John Powell ~ On behalf of the ratepayers of Area ‘D’ and all those clients who he has served so effectively these past five years, I offer my sincere words of gratitude….John, we all thank you sincerely and wish you well in your future career path.”