South Okanagan residents will likely have a new ‘playground’ of sorts when they venture to the warm waters of Osoyoos Lake in the summer of 2017.

At its regular meeting Monday, Town of Osoyoos council passed a motion stating: Council proceed with a Request For Proposal for the establishment of a Wibit Water Park at Legion Beach.

Over the past few months, the Town had received numerous enquiries from business operators interested in establishing a Water Park in Osoyoos.

During an Oct. 3 in-camera meeting, Council narrowed the list of potential locations to Legion Beach and Cottonwood Park. Prior to making its decision, Council asked Planning and Development Services to conduct community consultation.

As Senior Planner Dilys Huang explained to Council Monday, the Town received 249 responses, with the majority, 79 per cent, supportive of having a Wibit water park in town. Only 14 per cent were not supportive.

As for where to locate the water park, 32 per cent favoured Legion Beach, while 25 per cent favoured Cottonwood Beach.

Council decided to go with the Legion Beach concept.

“I think both locations were reasonable. When we went to the public with it, the scale tilted toward Legion. I prefer Legion personally. It just seemed like the right location, but I would have been okay if it had gone the other way too,” offered Councillor Mike Campol, who moved the motion. “I think it offers more for young people to do. I’ve seen them operate before, and it looks like a ton of fun. It’s something else for our residents too, and we’re always looking at more for families and kids to do in our community. It’s a great addition. I think it’s going to be an amazing thing.”

An application would need to be submitted to the Province for converting a specific water area to commercial use. The successful proponent would be responsible for the commercial Crown lease charge, any BC Assessment taxes, and would be required to pay a lease rate to the Town for the use of municipal land.

One of the interested business operators has expressed a desire to be operational by the summer of 2017. However, that would be dependant on preparation of an RFP, approval from the province, and the outcome of the water rezoning process.

-Dale Cory