Digging For PickleBall

Vernon, BC, Canada / 1075 KISS FM Pete McIntyre October 05, 2017 05:45 am

Work is finally ready to start on a new 600-thousand dollar pickleball facility in Vernon. Crews will start digging the foundation Tuesday at the site in Marshall Field, along with moving water and power lines.Project manager Don Friesen from the Vernon Pickleball Association says they’ve been waiting for final approval. “Everything is 100 percent go. All the services will be worked on, the irrigation system will be moved, the hydro line, we’re working on getting that moved, and we’ll be working on digging the foundation Tuesday morning as well.” Friesen, who has hired contractors to do the work, hopes to have the concrete and paving done before the snow flies, otherwise it will have to wait until spring. “The problem with waiting til spring is now you have to wait for areas to dry up before you start hauling big trucks in an out, so it stretches it out considerably.”Friesen says the goal is to have the 12 courts open by next May. “That will be a summer time facility, and the club will be raising funds for putting a building over top of the courts to make it a covered court so we can use it most of the winter as well.”Friesen says the cost for covered courts is an extra $1 million on top of the $600,000 for the basic facility. The club and the regional district are splitting the $600,000 cost. Friesen says the pickleball club has close to 400 members, and these will be the first courts specifically for the sport. “In the 55 Plus BC Games, we had 900 pickleball games, so that’s an indication of how popular pickleball has become,” states Friesen.

Cultural process proceeds

RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Thu Jul 20th, 2017 6:00pmNEWS

Greater Vernon residents may get a chance next year to vote on the future of cultural amenities.On Thursday, the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee initiated a request for proposals to design and plan a multi-use cultural facility.“We will start working on the location and viability of mixed space,” said Juliette Cunningham, chairperson.Depending on how the process unfolds, a borrowing referendum for construction may be held by November 2018.“Ultimately, it will be the taxpayers that decide,” said Cunningham.

The Greater Vernon Museum would like a new facility from 23,0000 to 30,000-square-feet in size while the Vernon Public Art Gallery has stated 18,000-square-feet is needed for programming, exhibitions and storage.It has previously been suggested that the cost could be about $35 million, but the preliminary design and planning process would identify a more concrete price tag. A new art gallery was formerly targeted for the old flower shop site on 31st Avenue while it was previously proposed that the museum be expanded, but Cunningham says GVAC has no preconceived notions about location.“We want a comprehensive analysis on where it could be located,” she said, adding that while the issue of cultural facilities has been around for years, she is confident action is being taken. “I get the sense that there is political will to address it in a meaningful way.”
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http://www.rdno.ca/agendas/131205_gvac_agn.pdf   p.33-221
http://vernonblog.blogspot.ca/2013/12/gvac-agenda-thursday-dec-5-8-am.html

Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant UV UpgradesTender

Awarded Bids (So Far)
Bid No. Description Closing Date Awarded to: Award Value
2017-E372.09.1 Ultraviolet Disinfection at Duteau Creek Water
Treatment Plant Project – Engineering Services
20-Jan-2017 Opus International Consultants (Canada) Ltd.
$399,870.00 (plus GST)

2017-E372.09.2 Ultraviolet Disinfection at
DCWTP Project - Equipment
23-Mar-2017 Xylem Canada Company
 1,243,340.00 (plus GST)

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Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant UV UpgradesTender No. 2017-E372-09.4  Closing Date: Thursday, August 10, 2017 - 2:00 pm
The Regional District of North Okanagan, hereinafter referred to as “Owner”, invites tenders for Regional District of North Okanagan Tender No. 2017-E372-09.4, the Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant UV Upgrades (DCWTP UV Upgrades).
The work includes the supply of all labour, materials and equipment to construct the Duteau Creek WTP UV Building and related facilities. The work includes, but is not limited to, the earthworks, concrete works, structural, installation of owner supplied UV equipment, mechanical and electrical systems necessary for the complete upgrade as detailed in the Contract Documents.

Multi-use Cultural Facility – Preliminary Design and Planning RFP

GREATER VERNON ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
Thursday, July 20, 2017 Boardroom - 9848 Aberdeen Road, Coldstream, BC 9:00 a.m.

Multi-use Cultural Facility – Preliminary Design and Planning RFP
Staff reported dated June 14, 2017

RECOMMENDATION 2 Page 2 - 10

That it be recommended to the Board of Directors, staff be directed to issue the RFP #2017-P12 – Greater Vernon Multi-Purpose Cultural Facility Functional Program, Site Analysis and Conceptual Design, as included in the staff report dated June 14, 2017.
170614_RPT_GVAC_MPCF_Workplan

Ice Sheet Replacement Borrowing Loan Issue

Topic: Loan Issue No. 141 – Spring 2017 
On  April  7th,  2017,  the  Municipal  Finance  Authority  of  BC  will  fund  loan  issue  No.  141  to  participating members. The re‐lending rates have been set at:
1.95% for 5 year borrowers,
2.80% for 10 year borrowers, and
2.80% for the 1st ten years on loans with terms of 15, 20, 25, & 30 years* 
The net proceeds reflect 99% f the gross loan request with 1% withheld for Debt Reserve Fund
purposes. The 1% contribution will be refunded, with interest, upon full repayment of your loan obligation.
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Amortization Schedule for Borrowing of $13,250,000 for Ice Sheet Replacement:

New cash for Greater Vernon Water means costly filtration system may be avoided

March 17, 2017 - 9:00 PM By Charlotte Helston CASTANET
VERNON - 
A partial solution to Greater Vernon’s water quality woes is coming down the pipes.The North Okanagan Regional District has secured nearly $6 million in a grant from the provincial government’s Clean Water and Wastewater Fund. The $5.8 million will be used for a UV disinfection system at the Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant. The funding announcement comes a few years after the failed 2014 borrowing referendum for $70 million in Greater Vernon Water upgrades, including a new filtration system at the community’s primary source of drinking water, the Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant. Currently, the Greater Vernon Water system doesn’t meet provincial water quality standards. “Putting in the UV disinfection will hopefully give us good results in terms of Interior Health testing our water, so we can defer the full filtration at Duteau, which is a significant cost,” Greater Vernon Advisory Committee chair Juliette Cunningham says. While it remains unknown if the pricey filtration system will be necessary one day, Cunningham says they have at least bought some time. “That’s one of the advantages of having had the referendum fail, because this has given us more options to look at in terms of technology, and other effective methods to improve the water without going to that final stage of filtration,” Cunningham says. The province has also announced roughly $3 million for the Okanagan Landing Sewer Extension Project in Vernon, $100,000 for the Coldstream Sewer Extension, and about $200,000 each for Long-Term Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades and Groundwater Supply Evaluation and Monitoring Well Construction in Lumby. “The near $9.4 million combined investment in the North Okanagan will support important infrastructure improvements for treatment and wastewater projects,” Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster says in a media release.

Regional budget moves ahead

by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star North Okanagan posted Mar 2, 2017 at 6:00 AM
The final dollars and cents are being hammered out at the Regional District of North Okanagan. Directors held a special meeting Wednesday to take a look at the 2017 budget, which calls for expenses of $88.6 million compared to $63.6 million in 2016. "Almost every service had very little increase or less than the cost of living," said Bob Fleming, chairperson.  The primary reason for the increase is borrowing payments for two projects, the BX-Swan Lake fire hall expansion and a new ice sheet at Kal Tire Place. There are also some new services that have pushed expenditures up. "The rail trail has to be maintained and there are portions of the Grey Canal Trail that have been extended," said Fleming. The impact of the budget on taxpayers will vary between jurisdiction depending on the services received from the regional district. The tax requisition for Armstrong will climb 1.1 per cent while it will increase three per cent in Enderby, 10.3 per cent in Vernon, 5.4 per cent in Coldstream, 6.7 per cent in BX-Swan Lake, 8.7 per cent in BX-Silver Star, four per cent in rural Lumby and 5.3 per cent in Cherryville. The requisition will drop 1.1 per cent in rural Enderby, 0.6 per cent in Spallumcheen and three per cent in Lumby.
However, the actual tax impact may differ in some neighbourhoods based on services provided, such as water, sewer and street lights. In Greater Vernon, there is a 12 per cent hike for parks and recreation because of upgrades to the athletics park, a cultural facility reserve and other initiatives. "This is one of the largest increases for requisition," said Stephen Banmen, finance general manager. There was some discussion about whether some services should cease, including Greater Vernon's contribution to the Queen Silver Star committee. "I've never heard anything come back from the committee on its purpose. I've never heard from the organizers," said Mike Macnabb, BX-Silver Star director. A total of $7,014 has been committed to the Queen Silver Star program in 2017.It's anticipated the 2017 budget will be adopted at the regular board meeting March 8.
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Don Quixote Note: In Vernon the Tax increase for your property will :

• Increase by .3% for those functions listed below that are charged on land and improvements.
• Increase by15.7% for those functions listed below that are charged on improvements only.
• Decrease by .1% for those functions listed below that are charged on land only. (SIR Program)

Based on my last years property tax bill (2016) my increase will be:

Land &Improvements  $102.77 x1.003= 108.08  (+$5.31)

Improvements Only:     $205.76 x1.157= 238.06 (+32.30)

Land Only (SIR )          $  12.09 x.999=      12.08  (-.01)

Total Increase = $37.60.

(check your 2016 tax bill to calculate your anticipated tax increase forRDNO items. Actual because of assessment changes will vary higher or lower when 2017 tax bill comes in.)

https://rdno.civicweb.net/document/69635

Vernon 2017 Tax Requisition

RDNO Tax Requisition by Cost Centre (function)

RDNO Tax Requisition by Cost Centre (function)

In a pickle

by Kate Bouey - CASTANET Feb 9, 2017 / 11:23 am
Local politicians are in a pickle following a request for $500,000 to help build dedicated pickleball courts at Marshall Field. The Vernon Pickleball Association is fundraising and applying for grants in an effort to raise the rest of the $1.2 million needed to build the outdoor facility. Pickleball spokesperson Pat Andrews told the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee on Thursday, that it was hoped construction could start in the spring in order to be ready for the BC 55+ Games in Vernon in September. Vernon director Bob Spiers said that was over optimistic, especially without federal grant money in place. Spiers also questioned the request for cash. “The original proposal was for a completely covered (facility) for another 1.8 million and they were going to raise money through a loan, I believe, and pay it back over ten years,” said Spiers. “Orginally, they wanted us to upfront the loan they were going to get and now they are coming back after we gave them the opportunity to use Marshall Field as the land base. I'm conflicted.” Electoral Area C director Mike Macnabb expressed confusion, stating he would have to think about the request. “It is a bit of a change from what was orginally asked but for me it's encouraging they are being very proactive, even in their fundraising,” said Juliette Cunningham, GVAC chairperson. “We don't often get that kind of support from a group, financially.” The plan is to construct 12 pickleball courts right next to the Vantage One soccer centre, with a view to covering the courts with a roof – as money permits – so that they could be used year round. Pickleball association members have stressed they are desperate for more space and have shortened games and capped the membership at 333.
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Pickleball funds uncertain
by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Greater Vernon posted Feb 9, 2017 at 10:00 AM
It’s uncertain if cash will be pumped into a new sports facility. On Thursday, the Vernon Pickleball Association asked the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee for $500,000 to go towards dedicated courts, with the hope of having them open this September. “Timing wise there are a lot of challenges,” said director Jim Garlick, adding that GVAC’s 2017 budget is basically completed and the regional district would have to look at its ability to borrow the money. There are also concerns about the pickleball association’s ability to raise a matching $500,000. Director Doug Dirk believes the association’s goal of receiving federal and provincial government grants this spring is unrealistic. “They won’t likely announce (successful grants) until the summer so there’s not enough time to do it before the 55+ Games,” he said. Currently, the association has raised $53,000 for courts at Marshall Field and various donors are being pursued. “There are some big federal and provincial grants coming out,” said Pat Andrews, with the VPA. The VPA currently has 333 members and pickleball occurs inside at four different sites. “We are using all of these facilities to capacity. There is a shortage of available space,” said Andrews. In the summer, pickleball is played outdoors at three locations but there have been issues with noise and parking. Andrews says permanent courts will allow local residents to be active. “It will enhance the tourist industry in Vernon,” she said, adding that a three-day tournament would generate $285,000 in economic benefits.A GVAC decision on the $500,000 request won’t be known until March 9.