OSOYOOS COUNCIL BRIEF
Public told to stay on topic at AGM
Chief administrative officer Barry Romanko may have offered a thinly-veiled warning this afternoon to anti-national park activists who may be planning to hijack the town’s annual general meeting next month.
In his report to council, Barry Romanko said the town’s annual report will be presented at the June 17 AGM, at which the public is invited to comment.
He reminded the public, however, that comments are limited to material in the annual report.
At an anti-park rally in Osoyoos in April, Lionel Trudel of the South Okanagan Similkameen Preservation Society urged national park opponents to attend the AGM and “give (Mayor Sue McKortoff) a piece of your mind.”
Desert Park looking for $3K tax break
The Desert Park Exhibition Society is seeking a $3,100 tax break from the town as a mostly new board of directors seeks to regain its financial footing after a series of event losses.
Society president Bobbie Fischer told an Osoyoos council committee this morning the group is trying to get a handle on the cash-flow situation and the $3,100 sewer and water tax is a significant drain.
The only income Desert Park generates is from recreational vehicle parking and horse boarding and training, she said.
“Paramount to the board is our fiscal responsibility to be frugal on our expenditures and build contingency funds for machinery repairs, facility upgrades and events offered to locals and tourists,” Fischer wrote.
Two of the park’s mainstays – summer horse racing and the Medieval Faire – no longer are being presented and the board is in the process of assessing what might replace them.
Council asked Fischer to forward it more detailed financial information to help it make a decision on the society’s request.
$1,000 for dangerous dog court appeal
The town will kick in $1,000 toward the legal fund of an association representing bylaw enforcement officers as it intervenes in an appeal court case over jurisdiction and judicial discretion in dangerous dog cases.
According to report from deputy corporate officer Brianne Hillson, the Union of BC Municipalities in 2016 condemned the decision that is now under appeal. The implications of it include substantially higher costs to municipalities for dangerous dog enforcement cases.
With assurances from Hillson and chief administrative officer Barry Romanko that the Licence Inspectors and Bylaw Officers Association is a legitimate outfit, council voted $1,000 to its cause.
According to the report, Osoyoos deals with four or five dog attack cases each year.
Liquor outlet proposed in heart of motel row
Council has designated the town’s planning director to provide the province with support for a proposed licensed establishment at the southwest corner of Highway 3 and Harbour Key.
The property is already zoned for a liquor licence, but requires a provincial permit, which in turn, needs local input.
Sara van der Hoeven is seeking to open the outlet and possibly a craft brewery in the future, either at the site or elsewhere.
According to a report from planning director Gina MacKay, “The proposed location for a licensed establishment is in the hotel area of our community. A new liquor establishment fits in well with the tourist nature of the area.”