www.rdos.bc.ca

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen June 2015 Newsletter Volume 3 Issue 5

REGIONAL CONNECTIONS

The Regional District was pleased to be a part of an exciting Provincial announcement that showcases cycling in the Region. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone announced the South Okanagan-Similkameen has been selected to be a pilot area for the Provinces new cycling tourism signage and marketing strategy.

Known as the South Okanagan-Similkameen Cycling Network, this pilot will lead the way for other cycling networks throughout the Province.

Consistent “way-finding” route signage will be installed across the region which will identify routes for cyclists to follow. Once they hit the road, the signage will guide them along a route of their choice. Road shoulder maintenance and sweeping on the key routes will be doubled for greater safety.

Cyclists of all skill levels can go online to www.clickhikebike.com and plan their trip.

The road cycling routes, the KVR and Similkameen rail trails and destination mountain bike areas area all displayed online. The South Okanagan-Similkameen Cycling Guide (bike map) is also now available through local tourism offices. This product was a collaborative effort by local government, tourism organizations and the cycling community.

“The Regional District is very pleased to see that the Province is now recognizing this regions cycling network as the world class network that it is,” said Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen Chair, Mark Pendergraft. “People come from around the world to ride, train and race throughout the South Okanagan-Similkameen. Now the required infrastructure will be put in place to support that interest and make it safer for everyone.”

The Regional Trails Program is a flagship for the RDOS. Cycling was identified as a key focus area as part of the 2012 Regional Trails Master Plan. 71% of those surveyed identified themselves as cyclist. A cycling network was established as part of the Master Plan vision and that same network was used as the basis for the South Okanagan-Similkameen Cycling Network.

A key success driver for the RDOS is to develop socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable communities throughout the region. The building and promoting of cycling infrastructure promotes active healthy living, tourism and economic development opportunities and reduces greenhouse gases.

Learn more:For information on the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen’s cycling network, go to:www.clickhikebike.com

OKANAGAN-SIMILKAMEEN CYCLING NETWORK GETS A BOOST!

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone, Minister of State for Small Business, Penticton MLA Dan Ashton, Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Chair Mark Pendergraft, City of Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit, and local cyclists.

NARAMATA BEAR SMART

ANNIVERSARY

It’s the one year anniversary of Naramata Bear Smart!Zoe Kirk, RDOS Wildsafe B.C. Coordinator was at the Wednesday Naramata market to help commemorate a year of Bear Smart in Naramata. “To celebrate the milestone, a cake was provided to thank Naramata citizens for continuing to be ‘Bear Smart’ this past and very important first year” said Zoe. RDOS, Electoral Area “E” Director, Karla Kozakevich and Conservations Officers also attended. Student Abhi Sharma was onsite along with Zoe at the booth to answer wildlife questions and pass out the goodies. Congratulations Bear Smart Naramata on your first Anniversary!For further information, please contact, Zoe Kirk at (250) 490-4110 or zkirk@rdos.bc.ca.

JAIL N’ BAIL - RDOS WANTED CUFFED FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen’s (RDOS) most wanted, Electoral Area “E” Director Karla Kozakevich and Mark Woods, RDOS Manager of Community Services, were arrested and cuffed for a good cause today during Penticton’s first annual Jail n’ Bail fundraiser. “Jail n’ Bail is a Canadian Cancer Society initiative, where we are arrested and taken to jail and must raise enough money by calling friends and family to make bail in order to win our freedom back! This was a fun initiative and we are proud to participate in this important cause,” said RDOS Director Kozakevich. The two were able to raise their bail money, and then some, by generous community

donations in excess of $3000.00 which goes to the Canadian Cancer Society and to Myla, a local 6 year old child who is battling a rare form of cancer. The RDOS prides itself in fostering dynamic and effective community relationships and is pleased to support community initiatives such as the Canadian Cancer Society’s Jail n’ Bail.

Karla Kozakevich, RDOS Electoral Area “E” Director and Mark Woods, RDOS Manager of Community Services.

Electoral Area “E” Director, Karla Kozakevich, Conservation Inspector Barb Leslie, and RDOS Special Projects Coordinator, Zoe Kirk

Board of DirectorsMARK PENDERGRAFTRDOS ChairArea “A” - Osoyoos Rural

GEORGE BUSHArea “B” - Cawston

TERRY SCHAFERArea “C” - Oliver Rural

THOMAS SIDDONArea “D” - Kaleden/Okanagan Falls

KARLA KOZAKEVICHArea “E” - Naramata

MICHAEL BRYDONOSRHD ChairArea “F” - Okanagan Lake West/West Bench

ELEF CHRISTENSENArea “G” - Keremeos Rural/Hedley

BOB COYNEArea “H” - Princeton Rural

ANDREW JAKUBEITRDOS Vice-ChairCity of Penticton

HELENA KONANZCity of Penticton

JUDY SENTESOSRHD Vice-ChairCity of Penticton

ANDRE MARTINCity of Penticton

PETER WATERMANDistrict of Summerland

TONI BOOTDistrict of Summerland

RON HOVANESTown of Oliver

SUZAN MCKORTOFFTown of Osyoos

FRANK ARMITAGETown of Princeton

MANFRED BAUERVillage of Keremeos

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is pleased to announce the completion of the Kaleden Lakeshore Pedestrian Corridor. The two-kilometre paved multi-purpose pathway provides a safe walking and biking route for pedestrians between Highway 97 and the Lower Kaleden lakeshore; with its access to recreational amenities including the KVR Trail, this corridor offers rich opportunities for outdoor activities that contribute to physical and mental health.

In 2013, concerns for pedestrian safety on Lakehill Road prompted a community petition for the pathway. The Kaleden Parks and Recreation Commission supported the petition stating that “Lakehill Road is a heavily used corridor between the highway, the post office and the beach at Skaha Lake including access to hundreds of homes and the KVR trail. Lakehill Road is used by children to walk to school, residents to walk on, cycle on, and ride horses on. The road is narrow, heavily used and outdated.”

The new corridor encourages people to be active and is accessible to a wide range

of users; allowing school children, young families and retirees to move around on foot or bike within their neighbourhood. Active transportation improves individual health and the health of our communities by cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions, reducing air pollutants, noise pollution and congestion. By choosing to use the corridor, individuals are also causing less wear and tear on the roads and increasing their contact with their neighbours and community.

RDOS Electoral Area “D” Director Tom Siddon praised the project, saying that “this long awaited and much-needed project will give Kaleden its first-ever pedestrian walkway in the historic community’s more than 100-year history. The walkway will provide a pedestrian friendly and safe walking connection to several important community services and the lakefront amenities of Lower Kaleden.”

For further information, please contact, Mark Woods, Manager of Community Services at (250) 492-0237 or mwoods@rdos.bc.ca.

KALEDEN PEDESTRIAN CORRIDOR GRAND OPENING

Fred King, Kaleden Resident, Kim Denis, Kaleden Resident , Linda Larson, Boundary-Similkameen MLA, Tom Siddon, RDOS Electoral Area “D” Director.

www.rdos.bc.ca

Tim Broesche and Edgar Yost, Friends of the Game, provided the Board of Directors with a presentation regarding the Penticton 2016 BC Winter Games.

The Haynes Barn at the junction of Road 22 and Black Sage Rd was added to the RDOS Heritage Register in 2008. More recently, an interest group has formed to help stabilize the buildings, which extends to the two buildings on the south side of Road 22. In order to be eligible for grants, the Statement of Significance (SoS)had to be amended to increase the boundary of the heritage site – the group commissioned a local historian to conduct the research and make the necessary additions to the SoS.The Board of Directors approved the adjustment of the Haynes Barn heritage register listing.

The Board of Directors approved the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Statement of Financial Information for the year ended December 31, 2014 pursuant to the Finance Information Act Financial Information Regulations. Further information can be found on the RDOS website at www.rdos.bc.ca.

The Naramata Water System Back-Up Power Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 2696, 2015 was given third reading by the Board

of Directors and will now be forwarded to the Inspector of Municipalities for Ministry approval prior to electoral approval. An alternative approval process will take place. It has been recommended that the debt servicing be recovered as part of the utility billing process, through user fees. Interest at 4% over a 20 year term on $1,000,000 would result in an annual debt servicing cost of $75,361. The impact of the debt servicing for the basic water fee per water bill would be an increase of $75.

The Naramata Fire Truck Acquisition Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 2698, 2015 was given third reading by the Board of Directors and will now be forwarded to the Inspector of Municipalities for Ministry approval prior to electoral approval. An alternative approval process will take place. A new fire engine purchase will increase the pumping capacity of water. Interest at 4% over a 15 year term on $400,000 would result in an annual debt servicing cost of $36,730 which equates to $.0816 per thousand of assessment.

The Board of Directors adopted the Okanagan Falls Sanitary Sewer Development Cost Charge Bylaw No. 2486.01. Details of the cost charges can be found at www.rdos.bc.ca.

The Board of Directors adopted Bylaw No. 2699, Electoral Area “H” Community Facilities Capital Reserve Fund Expenditure.In 2014, the RDOS Board created the Electoral Area ‘H’ Community Facilities Capital Reserve Fund for the purposes of expenditures for or in respect of capital projects within Electoral Area “H”. The Hayes Creek Fire Brigade has requested funding for the expansion of the Hayes Creek Fire Hall in the amount of $30,000.The Erris Volunteer Fire Association has requested funding for the completion of the fire/communityHall in the amount of $22,800.The Area H Community Facilities Reserve Fund balance is currently $607,750.

The Board of Directors gave third reading to the RDOS Regional Economic Development Service Establishment Bylaw No. 2695 and will now be forwarded to the Inspector of Municipalities for approval. The bylaws purpose is to establish a service which promotes economic development.

The Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development (MCSCD) provided $50,000 to the RDOS to conduct a Governance Study in Electoral Area “D”. In June the Board of Directors endorsed the committee’s Terms of Reference and appointed members to the committee.

RDOS BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTSSelected highlights from the regular meetings of the Board of Directors of the

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen held June 4 and June 18.

Michael Brydon grew up in Penticton and was active in student government and sports while in school. Following graduation from Pen-Hi, Michael spent a year as a Rotary Exchange Student in Liège, Belgium. Michael attended both Royal Roads Military College in Victoria and the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. During his time at military college, Michael was a member of the Canadian Forces volleyball team and was named an All-Canadian

in 1988 by the Canadian College Athletic Association. He graduated in 1990 from RMC with a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and a Queen’s Commission as an officer in the Canadian Forces. Michael remained at RMC following graduation as a lecturer and technical officer in the Department of Engineering and Management. He earned a Masters degree in Engineering following graduate work at Queens University and RMC.

Michael received a Ph.D. in Commerce and Business Administration from the University of British Columbia in 2001. While at UBC, Michael was a fellow at the Centre for Operations Excellence and consulted with a number of firms, including Avcorp, VanCity, and Canadian Airlines. He joined the Faculty of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University in 1999 where he is now an Associate Professor in the Management Information Systems group. His primary research interests involve the use of computation

to help decision makers cope in complex uncertain environments. Michael currently teaches business intelligence and systems analysis and design to undergraduates and strategic use of information and knowledge in SFU’s Management of Technology MBA program. He is also involved as a principal in several start-up firms, including Octothorpe Software, which makes tools for complex, multi-stakeholder, multi-criteria decision making. Michael is married to Stephanie (née McKay), who also grew up in Penticton. Stephanie is a registered nurse and has worked in many diverse healthcare environments, ranging from organ transplant and cardiac intensive care at Vancouver General Hospital to community nursing in Penticton, Summerland, and the South Okanagan. Stephanie is currently a diabetes educator with Interior Health. Michael and Stephanie have three young, active children: Greg, Chloe, and Sophie.

Get to know your Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen DirectorsMichael Brydon, RDOS Director, Electoral Area “F” - Okanagan Lake West/West Bench

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Board of Directors and Staff wish everyone a safe and happy Canada Day!