At Osoyoos Council

By ROY WOOD

Work will likely get under way shortly on paving parts of the canal trail after council approved a tender from a local company for the first phase of the work.

The approximately $120,000 contract with Osoyoos Aggregates will see the paving of the section from the southern end, near the high school, to Highway 3, plus a section extending to the Desert Rose subdivision on the highway.

Lighting is included in the project cost for the portion along the canal but not the 0.3-kilometre extension to Desert Rose.

Since the bid is about $100,000 less than the amount in the capital budget for the project, council further authorized town staff to seek quotes to create a rest area near the northern end of that section of the trail and for more paving on the trail north of the highway below the airport.

Funding for both phases of the project comes form the provincially funded Resort Municipalities Initiative.

According to a report from chief administrative officer Barry Romanko: “Attempts will be made to have the project completed prior to the summer season. If that is not possible, a fall project will be completed.”

Romanko told council that the canal-paving project had been the subject of an unsuccessful application for funding through the federal Canada 150 program.

That program is having a “second intake” and the town will re-submit the plan. If it is successful this time around, the additional money will be used for even more expansion of the canal trail system.