Money pumped into Valley

Darren Handschuh - CASTANET Mar 9, 2018 / 1:11 pm
Federal money is pouring into the Okanagan, with several multi-million dollar announcements being made Friday. Vernon will see $2.5 million come back to the region from federal Gas Tax Strategic Priorities Fund. Mayor Akbal Mund said the windfall will be used for infrastructure improvements. “The 29th-30th Street corridor and 39th Avenue intersection project was approved for $2.394 million; and the Drainage Infrastructure Prioritization project was approved for $105,175,” said Mund. Some 108 projects throughout the province have been approved and four have been conditionally approved, for nearly $193 million from the federal Gas Tax Fund. Coldstream will see up to $495,000 to build the Kalamalka Road Multi-Use Path Project — a four-metre wide pathway extending 350 meters from the Coldstream/Vernon boundary to the intersection of College Way and Kalamalka Road.Coldstream officials said construction costs of the path will be in the neighbourhood of $520,000. "The completion of the Kalamalka Road Multi-Use Path will provide a key travel connection for commuters and recreational users in the community, particularly with the anticipated increased usage of the Okanagan Rail Trail, said Coldstream mayor Jim Garlick. "It will also support the future development of the District-owned property along Kalamalka Road.” The Township of Spallumcheen will receive $275,000 for the development of an integrated asset management and climate change plan. Lumby also received $2.5 millions for improvements to aging Pat Duke Memorial Arena. "I am pleased to see the important work that will be done across British Columbia thanks to the federal Gas Tax Fund,” said Amarjeet Sohi, federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.“Whether a community needs to expand its recreational centre, repair roads, or make energy-saving upgrades, the Government of Canada will continue to invest in the local infrastructure Canadians want and need.” The District of Lake Country has been awarded $5 million in federal gas tax funding to complete a new, multi-generational activity centre.
------------
Federal Gas Tax Fund-Strategic Priorities Approved and Conditionally Approved ProjectsUpdated as of March 6, 20182017 Intake

City Makes Pitch To Housing Minister

Vernon, BC, Canada / 1075 KISS FM Pete McIntyre September 26, 2017 02:00 pm
The City of Vernon has made its case for more affordable housing support to the province’s housing minister.Mayor Akbal Mund says he and other city reps met with Selina Robinson at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Vancouver, and outlined growing issues with homelessness in the city. Mund says Vernon sometimes gets overlooked when it comes to government support. “We live in an area, the Okanagan, where people are now starting to move to. It’s growing, and we have our concerns as a smaller community in terms of Kamloops and Kelowna that seem to get a few more resources,” Mund tells Kiss FM.Mund says the area needs to be viewed as having 90-thousand residents in the regional district, rather than just Vernon. Mund says all they can do is ask the province for more support. “It’s a conversation to let them know how concerned we are with the homeless population in our community. We look for solutions, and we know they will take it to the federal government as well, so we’ll see what comes from it.”
---------------------------
The city reps met with Judy Darcy, Minister of the Mental Health and Addictions Ministry at UBCM Tuesday.
“Council representatives presented the issues of mental health and addictions, in particular, the opioid crisis which is impacting the City of Vernon,” says a City release. “Minister Darcy was advised that there is a correlation between these issues and the growth in the City of Vernon homeless population. Council’s hope is that there be a better integration between Ministries dealing with the issues of housing, mental health, addictions and poverty.”

Vernon has four council members and two administrative staff at the annual conference.

Vernon fed up with downloading

by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Vernon posted Sep 30, 2016 at 6:00 AM
Vernon wants the downloading to stop. Council members discussed policing costs with Community Development Minister Coralee Oakes at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria Wednesday. Mayor Akbal Mund says there’s a growing problem with cities being charged for DNA analysis and police dogs. “We get notified on it and within a week, we get an invoice,” he said. “There’s no time for the community to say, ‘How do we put this into the budget?’” As an example, the city was charged $27,000 a year for dog services. “We don’t budget for that. All of a sudden, it’s bingo, ‘Here you go,’” said Mund. The city is asking the provincial government to provide more consultation over police costs. “We don’t want any surprises,” said Mund. Council officials also met Thursday with Transportation Minister Todd Stone about the need for south-bound turn lanes at 32nd Street and 32nd and 43rd avenues. “We want to move them up on the project list,” said Mund.

Premier funds water, firefighter help for communities

by Tom Fletcher - BC Local News Victoria BC posted Sep 28, 2016 at 4:00 PM
In what looked and sounded like a road-test of her 2017 election campaign, Premier Christy Clark used her annual speech to municipal leaders Wednesday to announce new funds for water systems and benefits for forest firefighters. Speaking to a packed room of local politicians at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria, Clark committed $148 million to a clean water and wastewater fund for communities. That funds a third of the costs, with federal contributions raised to 50 per cent, leaving local governments to raise the remainder.

Clark praised B.C. Government Employees' Union president Stephanie Smith for pushing to extend her union's benefits to seasonal forest fire-fighters, several of whom joined Clark and Smith to address the media after her speech. Smith said about 200 firefighters will receive benefits this year, and more in future years. Clark also announced an additional $10 million to support a drug addiction treatment centre, research and health care training in response to the growing opioid overdose epidemic that has spread from B.C. across the country. Clark touted the benefits of the Pacific Northwest LNG project in northwestern B.C., which was given federal approval this week. Taking questions after the speech, she would not predict when the Petronas-led group of Asian investors would proceed with the $36 billion investment, but said China and India in particular are anxious to move to natural gas as a cleaner fuel. NDP leader John Horgan described Clark's speech as a repackaging of her 2013 election campaign, with "B.C. first" replacing "families first" and a promise to eliminate operating debt replacing one to pay off all debt with natural gas revenues. Horgan said the province needs to renew its focus on the forest industry. A sawmill in Merritt has announced it's closing due to a lack of logs, while record log exports are being shipped out from coastal forests, he said. "If we can send raw logs to Asia, we can get them up the Coquihalla," Horgan said. Clark said the B.C. and federal governments are focused on reaching a new lumber trade agreement with the United States, which appears poised to impose new duties on Canadian lumber as the old agreement runs out in October.
=====
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016PREM0115-001830
Funding boost for overdose crisis
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016PREM0117-001844

UBCM worth attending

By Darren Handschuh - CASTANET Sep 27, 2016 / 5:00 am
The mayor, four councillors and two city administrators are attending the Union of BC Municipalities conference this week. Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund said that is only one more than last year and it is well worth the expense of attending. City officials will be meeting with four provincial ministers on subjects including affordable housing, child care, mussels (on behalf of the regional district) and restorative justice. Each meeting with a minister will last roughly 15 minutes. “I think its important to have representation as a community, but also as regional district. We do attend collaboratively their meetings as well to show that we are all concerned about some of the initiatives we put forward,” said Mund. Mund could not say how much the five-day conference will cost the city. Councillors Brian Quiring and Bob Spiers are not attending the event. Councillors Scott Anderson, Juliette Cunningham, Dalvir Nahal and Catherine Lord, along with CAO Will Pearce and his assistant are attending. Quiring said he could not make it due to work load. “I'm going to go next year,” said Quiring, adding that is happy to see so many councillors and staff attend the annual event. “It's a good thing to go to. It's not a holiday. It's a working session. I have all the confidence in the world they are going to do a good job there,” said Quiring.
=======
Also See: http://www.1075kiss.com/top-news-stories/2016/09/26/city-sends-seven-to-conference

Social issues on agenda

By Darren Handschuh - CASTANET Sep 22, 2016 / 9:54 am
Social issues will dominate the agenda for Vernon officials when they attend the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference next week. Mayor Akbal Mund said he and councillors Scott Anderson, Juliette Cunningham, Dalvir Nahal and Catherine Lord, along with CAO Will Pearce and his assistant, will attend the five-day conference that begins Monday. Mund said the delegation will bring up seeking funds for restorative justice, accessible and affordable childcare and the ongoing affordable housing challenges. Mund said the issues are presented to the UBCM, then voted on. “If it passes, the UBCM will approach the provincial government with it." “I think affordable housing is a big one,” said Mund. “And childcare too. These are things that are happening everywhere. Municipalities can't carry the burden of the costs.” The regional district has also requested the city bring up the issue of quagga and zebra mussels and efforts to combat their spread into local waterways.

Victoria undecided on arena process

by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star posted Sep 27, 2015 at 1:00 AM
Provincial bureaucracy continues to stall Greater Vernon’s plans for a new arena. Regional District of North Okanagan officials met with Community Development Minister Peter Fassbender during the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention about Victoria signing off on a proposal for a new ice sheet so a borrowing referendum can be held. “The paperwork appears to be on someone’s desk,” said director Akbal Mund. RDNO hoped to hold a borrowing referendum in November 2014 but the provincial government blocked that process because Kal Tire Place is owned by the City of Vernon. To conform to ministry guidelines, the new strategy is for the regional district to borrow the funds and own the twinned ice sheet at Kal Tire Place. A long-term lease would place it in the hands of the city. However, a referendum date can’t be set until the ministry agrees to the proposal. Director Mike Macnabb suggests approval has been delayed because staff positions within the ministry have changed. “There are new deputy ministers, etc. We have things before them, so what happens now?” he said. Greater Vernon’s goal is to replace the 78-year-old Civic Arena, which requires significant upgrades. While at UBCM in Vancouver, local officials pursued a number of other issues with provincial ministers and municipal counterparts. “You try and get your point across and they have been very receptive,” said Mund, who was at his first UBCM as Vernon’s mayor. “If we get some results back, it will show that it worked. I have been making lots of contacts. You hear about other people’s problems and their solutions.” RDNO met with Education Minister Mike Bernier over the Vernon School District’s reduction of busing in Cherryville and rural Lumby. “The ministry agreed that there are problems but it’s up to school districts to set their budget,” said director Rick Fairbairn, adding that a provincial committee will look at rural busing. Okanagan Basin Water Board also met with the Ministry of Environment to push for increased action to stop invasive mussels from appearing in local lakes. “We were reassured that they are looking at this as a priority,” said Fairbairn.

Civic Leaders Debate 'Rape Culture'

Posted on 9/25/2015 by Pete McIntyre
B.C.'s municipal leaders want the province to take a closer look at the so called "rape culture" in society.Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund says the resolution from Northern Municipalities passed at the Union of BC Municipalities conference in Vancouver, and next goes to the B.C. government to consider a task force. "To determine the steps needed to erase the rape culture that is pervasive in schools, universities, work places, and elsewhere across Canada," says Mund, who was reading from the actual resolution. Mund says another part of the motion is that all hospitals should have rape kits, which he says is apparently not the case now.

-------------------------------------------------
A city of Vernon resolution to help small businesses was defeated by a slim margin at the Union of BC Municipalities conference. Mayor Akbal Mund says the motion from councillor Bob Spiers was for the province to raise the statutory property exemption from $10,000 -- to $50,000, for Business Class 6 assessments. The idea was to provide small business a fair exemption for their increased increased assessed property value. Mund says the issue has been brought up in year's past, and defeated, but this time, every vote had to be counted. "That's how close it was, and it was defeated 52 to 48%," says Mund. Mund says 81 percent of the businesses in B.C. are classified as small.
--------
Don Quixote Note:
History of resolution at UBCM:

Cities want auditor gone

by The Canadian Press CASTANET - Sep 24, 2015 / 12:12 pm
Municipal leaders in British Columbia have voted to call on the province to scrap a controversial office that audits local governments. A resolution to ask B.C. to eliminate the auditor general for local government was passed with 54.5 per cent support at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention on Thursday. North Saanich council had put forward the resolution, saying the office has cost taxpayers $5.2 million and was unnecessary because cities were already legally required to balance their books. Mayor Alice Finall told local politicians gathered at the conference that the province brought in the position in 2012 without consulting with cities and it hasn't shown any obvious value. But some communities that have been audited spoke in favour of keeping the office, with Sechelt mayor Bruce Milne saying his city benefited tremendously from the process. The province fired its first auditor, Basia Ruta, in March amid complaints of inefficiency and wasted money and announced Wednesday that accountant Gordon Ruth would take on the role.

Five communities win Open for Business Awards

News Release  Vancouver Wednesday, September 23, 2015 8:45 AM
Five communities were presented with Open for Business Awards for their innovative programs and projects that support local businesses at the annual Union of British Columbia Municipalities Convention. The awards, issued by the Small Business Roundtable, honour municipalities and First Nations who follow the spirit of the B.C. Small Business Accord. This year the winners are: Abbotsford, the City of Langley, Sidney, Surrey, and the Tsawwassen First Nation. They will each receive $10,000 to fund a local, small business-friendly project in their community. The roundtable also recognized Mayor Stewart Young of Langford, who received an honourable mention for his leadership in red tape reduction. (more)

Vernon Politicians at UBCM

Posted on 9/23/2015 by Pete McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM

North Okanagan politicians have been flexing their mussels at the Union of BC Municipalities Convention in Vancouver. Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund says they had a meeting with Environment Minister Mary Polak about zebra and quagga mussells, pressing the need for permanent inspection stations. "Just addressing the concerns that we do have if we get the invasive species within our lakes, it will be a major cost to clean them up and we just want to make sure we are doing all we can to be pro-active."Vancouver. Mund says the minster is very well schooled on the issue, and indicated the province is looking at ways to provide some funding. "Which was really good. It was a good sign. Not an official response as a ministry but they are working on where they can obtain the funds to battle this." Critics say attending the UBCM is a waste of taxpayers money but Mund says for a new political rep like him, it's a worthwhile event. "Now that I know how the process works, it is valuable. You get to talk to other mayors here, you get to go through the seminars and workshops. They are very enlightning what's out there and what you can do, especially for a new member."

UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Not Endorse Business Tax exemption

http://www.ubcm.ca/assets/Resolutions~and~Policy/Resolutions/2015-ResolutionsBook-for-web_lowres.pdf

UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Not Endorse

Mayor Calls Civic Conference 'Essential'

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Wednesday, 24 September 2014 17:00
The city of Vernon has three reps attending the Union of BC Municipalities conference in Whistler, but not to meet with provincial cabinet ministers. Mayor Rob Sawatzky says they feel those meetings are not worthwhile. "They're speed dating. The ministers are very distracted and very time-limited. Our administration is very experienced and they find those are not productive meetings." says Sawatzky. Sawatzky -- who is joined in Whistler by councillor Juliette Cunningham and administrator Will Pearce -- says they try to book the minsters at other times, if they have issues to discuss. The mayor says municipal officials are debating 150 resolutions at the conference, that run the gamut. "(One is) funding for 911 calls. There's are thousands of accidental 911 calls which cause great expense to the local governments when they respond. There's funding for ambulances and disabled children, and resolutions on how annexations should be handled," says the mayor. While some critics have called the conferences a waste of taxpayer money, Sawatzky calls them vital for relations between municipalities and the BC government. "The provincial government takes these very seriously. It is the most consistent, strong interaction between local government and the province, so I think they are absolutely essential," adds Sawatzky. Vernon has two resolutions among the 150, including one calling on ICBC to fully fund claims involving local government infrastructure.
---------
107.5 KISSFM Poll Results at 6:30 PM

Do you agree with Vernon's mayor that the UBCM conference is worth the expense of attending ?
another waste of tax dollars
19-	44.2%
yes
15-	34.9%
no
9-	20.9%

Number of Voters

:  43

Anexations Hammered

Written by Glen Morrison 107.5 KISSFM Friday, 18 July 2014 06:00
The issue of Vernon's annexing adjacent properties will be moving higher. RDNO vice chair Rick Fairbairn says rural directors don't think their concerns have been listened to. He says "But some of these annexations considered by the province, in light of all the work that we've done to address these issues, were not considered and that, the rural directors felt a further meeting was going to be required with the province." Fairbairn says they'll be writing the province expressing their strong objections to the annexations and will try to get a meeting with the minister responsible. Directors say the city's continuing moves hurt the tax base of their areas. Fairbairn thinks it will be an issue at this fall's annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention as well.

Pitch made for CP rail line

posted Jul 4, 2014 at 1:00 AM MARTHA WICKETT Black Press Morning Star
Local governments in the North Okanagan and Shuswap have launched an urgent drive to save the CP Rail line between Sicamous and Armstrong from potentially being chopped up and sold to private investors. A meeting was held recently to identify ways to preserve the line as a transportation corridor, initially for hiking and biking and, in the winter, perhaps cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. Members of the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District board and Splatsin First Nation, as well as the mayors of Vernon and Armstrong, attended the meeting, which resulted in Sicamous volunteering to draft a resolution to the Union of B.C. Municipalities. The resolution states that UBCM should become the owner of these deregulated rail corridors, and should ask the province to institute a province-wide parcel tax, similar to that levied by the Municipal Finance Authority on property tax notices, to help in their purchase and maintenance. “We’re not the only ones dealing with abandoned railway,” said Sicamous Mayor Darrel Trouton. “This is an opportunity for us to possibly have a rail trail from Sicamous right down to the border. Hopefully it goes through, hopefully we get some support from the province and communities in the province.” A bid to acquire the line between Sicamous and Armstrong became more tenuous when an opportunity was missed during the process that CP Rail had to follow in deregulating the line. When a federally regulated railway, such as CP or CN, announces its intention to discontinue operation of such a line, they must adhere to a formal abandonment process laid out by the Canada Transportation Act. If no commercial sale of the line to a rail company is completed within the allowed time, CP must offer to sell the line to local governments for a price not more than the net salvage value of the line. However, the deadline for local governments to purchase the Sicamous-Armstrong line passed without an agreement. The portion of line is now in CP Rail’s real estate group. “There is no formal process once the CTA discontinuance process is complete,” wrote CP spokesperson Salem Woodrow. “CP remains in contact with local municipalities and we are considering our next steps. Any discussions we have are in private.” Why the window of opportunity was missed remains something of a mystery. Although there had been a regional effort to acquire the line during the allowed time frame, once a local government enters into negotiations with CP, the process becomes confidential. However, now that the timeline has expired, comments are still not forthcoming.

B.C.'s municipal politicians to get longer term in office

BY ROB SHAW, VANCOUVER SUN FEBRUARY 25, 2014 11:22 AM
VICTORIA - Municipal politicians will soon get a longer term in office under reforms proposed by the B.C. government on Tuesday. The province will introduce legislation to change municipal elections from the current three-year term to a four year cycle, starting this fall, said Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Coralee Oakes. The changes would mean that politicians elected in the November municipal elections would not have to run for re-election until November 2018. All other Canadian provinces hold local elections every four years, Oakes said in a news release. Four-year terms for municipal politicians was first proposed by the government in 2010, but was defeated at the time by a vote from the Union of B.C. Municipalities. The UBCM eventually changed its position and members voted to support the move last year. The changes are part of a package of local reforms that Oakes said will also modernize campaign financing rules. Those changes don’t include a cap on municipal election spending, because the government has pushed that issue off for further public consultation.
http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2013-2017/2014CSCD0008-000215.htm
---------

City wants an end to downloading

by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star posted Feb 16, 2014 at 1:00 AM
Vernon politicians have backed away from a concept that could have sanctioned government downloading. Council has decided not to endorse a resolution from the Union of B.C. Municipalities that necessary water projects be exempt from needing voter assent. “If we do that, it makes it easier for the provincial government to download responsibility for a Ministry of Health directive on to a local government,” said Mayor Rob Sawatzky. “They should either fund it or give us the ability to fund it. The motion would have made it easier for the province to manage their downloading of projects.” The Greater Vernon Advisory Committee will ask voters in November to approve borrowing up to $70 million for phase one of the master water plan. Most of the plan, including filtration on the Duteau Creek treatment plan, has been ordered by the Interior Health Authority. “This set of expensive capital projects is imposed by an arm of the provincial government and if they are going to impose provincial responsibility on to local government, the tool (required) is funding,” said Sawatzky. Vernon council was unanimous in turning down support for making water infrastructure exempt from voter approval. For Coun. Bob Spiers, the motion also goes against democratic principles. “It gives the politicians another tool not to go to the public,” he said.

GE Free Zone In Province's Hands

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Monday, 07 October 2013 06:00
A decision to ban genetically engineered crops appears to now rest with the BC government, perhaps taking some heat off a North Okanagan committee. G-E opponents have called on a Regional District of North Okanagan agriculture panel to join 61 other BC communities that have become GE Free Zones. Committee chair Mike Macnabb says the Union of BC Municipalities recently passed a resolution, asking the province to consider a ban. "So one option (for his committee) is just to say, 'We can't have a resolution because it's out of our hands.' And another is to continue to look at what we might do to support agriculture in the region," Macnabb tells Kiss FM. While GE opponents say the altered crops are a health concern, Macnabb feels a ban on the products could have a major impact on local farmers. "I know with the GE resolution, there was no financial impact study on that, and it would be, I believe, devastating to existing farms and ranches in the area if it was mandated," says Macnabb. Supporters of a GE Free BC want the province to legislate a ban, and then ask the federal government to do the same.

Mayor Says UBCM Is 'No Holiday'

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Friday, 20 September 2013 10:50
Vernon's mayor is defending the cost of sending himself, two other council members, and the city's administrator for five days of civic meetings in Vancouver Rob Sawatzky says the Union of BC Municipalities conference is no holiday. "It's really a lot of work," Sawatzky tells Kiss FM. "There are so many simultaneous sessions that you have to coordinate between the three of you how you are going to attend so many interesting, important and conflicting sessions." Sawatzky is at the meetings with councillors Juliette Cunningham and Catherine Lord, and administrator Will Pearce. While the elected reps from Vernon have not been taking part in the usual 15 minute meetings with various BC cabinet ministers, a process Sawatzky refers to as "speed-dating," he says Pearce has been talking with the ministers. In other UBCM news, municipal elections will be held every four years-- if BC's civic leaders get their way with Victoria. Delegates at the UBCM have voted 60% in favour of extending the terms from the current three years. The resolution calls for the government to make the change in time for the next municipal elections in November 2014. Jordan Bateman with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the change could save money on election infrastructure like polling stations and staff. Not all mayors support the idea though, saying the three-year term give voters a say more often about who represents them. UBCM delegates have also supported a resolution from Kelowna calling on the BC government to amend the Motor Vehicle Act to give police a clear definition of what is noise pollution coming from the exhaust of motorcycles and motor boats. The noise levels, as supported by Transport Canada, are 92 decibels at engine idle and 96 DB at 2,000 r.p.m. Rhona Martin from Sicamous is the new UBCM president-elect. The Columbia-Shuswap Regional District board vice-chair was acclaimed to the one-year post on Wednesday.

Vernon Proposals Get BC Backing

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Friday, 20 September 2013 06:00
A couple of Vernon council resolutions have been endorsed by BC civic leaders. Mayor Rob Sawatzky says Uinion of BC Municipalities delegates in Vancouver have backed the idea to avoid holding alternate approvals or referendums for lower cost water projects. "So that we can borrow more quickly and respond more quickly to these legislated and required services, in the same way that we do with sewer (projects)," says Sawatzky. The BC mayors and councillors also approved Vernon's idea for making restorative justice a bigger part of dealing with crime. Meantime, Vernon's mayor likes a proposal to allow communities to hire non-RCMP officers for duties like writing traffic tickets. Sawatzky says that resolution from the city of Cranbrook was endorsed by civic leaders at the UBCM convention. He says it would allow regular officers to focus on more serious crimes, and save on costs. "Because one of the most expensive and difficult to control costs for communities, is policing," says the first term mayor. The resolutions will next go to the provincial government for consideration.