Civic voter turnout pathetic, says Rhodes
Voter turnout in Osoyoos civic elections is “pathetic” and “shameful,” Councillor CJ Rhodes said this afternoon in an impassioned plea for residents to get out and vote this Saturday.
Citing a decline that has seen turnout in the town spiral down over the past decade and a half from 57.2 per cent in 2005 to a low of 40.2 per cent in 2011. In the last civic election, in 2014, local turnout ticked up to 42.2 per cent.
Rhodes, the longest-serving member of the current council, tied the election into Remembrance Day on November 11: “If it wasn’t for the sacrifice of lives by many Canadians in armed conflicts over the years, we probably wouldn’t even be having an election on October 20.”
As a practical matter, he said: “If you don’t vote, you really have no right to complain about government decisions. … It’s like saying you don’t care about how your town is run.”
Turnout-wise, Osoyoos actually ranked in the top half of Okanagan jurisdictions in the 2014 election. In order they were: Summerland 51%; Keremeos 47.5%; Osoyoos 42.4%; Oliver 33.9%; Vernon 33.5%; Penticton 33%; and Kelowna 32.5%.
Two major bylaws get final approval
Final passage came today for two major amendment bylaws at what was the final meeting of the current town council.
A key aspect of the recreational cannabis retail sales zoning bylaw is its “site-specific” nature. Anyone wanting to open a retail pot operation will need to apply for approval in any of the town’s three commercial zones. There will be a public hearing and council will decide on a case-by-case basis.
The near-market housing policy and attached amendment bylaw imposes a five-year minimum ownership period before any owner may sell the a subsidized home for market value. This affects four near-market homes in the Meadowlark subdivision near the fire hall.
Today was the final meeting for Councillors Carol Youngberg and Mike Campol, both one-term members of council who decided not to run again. Mayor Sue McKortoff and Councillors CJ Rhodes and Jim King are up for re-election.
Local firm awarded water meter contract
Council awarded a nearly nine-thousand-dollar contract to a local plumbing firm to install most of the water meters that are part of the water-line twinning project north of town.
According to a report from operations manager Jim Dinwoodie, “The primary purpose of the water meters is to monitor usage and thereby ensure that domestic connections are not used for irrigation.”
The decision to install 96 of the original 143 meters follows a disappointing response to a call for tenders for the full number.
Only one bid — $69,369 — was received following the original call and it was 178 per cent over the amount left in the project budget.
The town will likely re-tender next year, but as an interim measure, the 96 meters that will be installed in outdoor pits rather than in homes, were tendered for bid. The low bid of $8,820 came from Kobau Plumbing of Osoyoos.