Town doesn’t want to own Loose Bay

A request that the town of Oliver take over ownership of the Loose Bay campsite was rejected by council despite ongoing commitments from the town to support the facility.

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) public works manager Roger Huston told council that the province won’t approve the district funding the campsite because the service area is not wide enough. The province prefers that such a facility be owned by the municipality that gains the most benefit.

Mayor Ron Hovanes said Loose Bay provides an important service to Oliver and area. He pointed out that the town has supported it financially – including supplying free water – but is not interested in owning it, mainly because of risk and liability issues.

The Loose Bay campsite is north of Oliver outside the town limits. It caters almost exclusively to seasonal agricultural workers.

“We’ll have to figure out another way,” concluded Huston.

Conservation funding request faces uphill battle

After pitching Oliver council on the merits of local conservation funds, a regional program manager conceded Monday the unlikelihood of getting piece of the 2016 budget pie.

South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program manager Bryn White told council Monday a conservation fund for the area would help protect “one of the most at risk areas of the province (where) natural areas and wildlife … are rare and endangered.”

She said such programs could be undertaken locally or regionally and would likely cost on the order of $10 per household per year.

The types of projects usually undertaken by such funds include: watershed and drinking water protection; fish and wildlife habitat restoration; parkland acquisition; protection of endangered species; or trails network development.

Mayor Ron Hovanes told White that her proposal would “be tossed into our budget process,” but that there are already many “big asks” on the table.

She responded that she doesn’t expect the town “to jump on this right now,” but hoped that council would “stay with us over time.”

Lake water levels respond to dredging

The water level in Tuc-el-Nuit Lake has receded following dredging work by the town, director of operations Shawn Goodsell reported Monday.

The work has involved “brushing” and debris removal at the north end of the lake allowing water to more freely flow into the culvert system, which leads eventually to the Okanagan River channel.

More work remains, he said, but it will need to wait until late January.