Council Highlights November 16th

New RCMP Members

Sgt. Rick McIsaac, who is starting his 3^rd year as Sgt. in Lake Country, introduced Cst. Rosanne Vandenbilche, the new School Liaison Officer and Cpl. Tess Guay, the new Patrol Supervisor. Cst. Vandenbilche is focusing all of her time on our local schools; morning and afternoons at the elementary schools and lunch hours at GESS. She gets to know the students, does traffic patrol, presentations to students, gets involved in many of the school groups such as Parents Advisory Committee and the Safe School Committee and generally makes sure there is an RCMP presence at the schools. Cpl. Tess Guay is Lake Country’s new Patrol Supervisor who just started in August 2010, and has been a considerable asset to the detachment. Many thanks to our local RCMP for all their hard work and we hope to hear more updates from them on emerging issues in the community.

A Selfless Act

The Governor General's Certificate of Commendation Award will be presented to Mr. Steve Swetlishoft at the December 7^th Regular Council Meeting for Mr. Swetlishoft’s selfless actions in rescuing a man who had fallen through the ice last winter. Click here to view the full news release.

Tis the Season!

Bring your kids, your neighbour’s kids, your grandkids, your neighbour’s grandkids (with their permission of course) and take part in Santa’s Craft Shop on December 4^th from noon to 3 p.m. Stick around after to enjoy the Christmas Light-Up from 3 to 5 p.m. Goodies and hot chocolate will make the evening a fun family treat! Click here for more info!

A Zip Line in Oyama! (TP2010-001)

After a very lengthy discussion Council approved a Temporary Use Permit for the installation of a Zip Line recreational facility on Oyama Lake Road. Before going ahead, the applicants have a lot of work to do! The Temporary Use Permit is subject to receiving other permits such as development permits, septic discharges, and an approved water supply source. The facility will be absolutely no-smoking to ensure fire safety and environmental impacts will be minimized to make sure the people using the zip line enjoy the natural scenery of the area. A new innovative idea coming to the community of Lake Country!

Photo Contest

The winners of the Photo Contest were announced! Over 240 entries were received and shortlisted to the top 14. Click here to view the winning pictures! And keep your eye out for new photos that will be used in District documents and posted on the web. Thanks to all the businesses that donated prizes and congrats to the prize winners!

1^st: Jose Larochelle $300 cash & $100 gift certificate for Lake Country Builders Mart;

2^nd: Conny Gregori $200 cash & Ex Nihilo Vineyards Private Tasting ($160 value);

3^rd: Conny Gregori $80 cash & $100 gift certificate for Lake Country Builders Mart;

4^th: Rawsthorne $50 cash;

5^th: Chrissie Cole $20 cash.

BC Hydro Improved Service to Lake Country

Mr. Dag Sharman is the Community Relations Manager for BC Hydro and will be Lake Country’s primary contact for emergencies, community projects or any issues that arise. He gave a brief presentation on some of BC Hydro’s current initiatives including the growing electricity needs, the clean energy strategy and BC Hydro’s commitment to be electricity self-sufficient by 2016. In regards to improving the service to Lake Country and future projects that will increase reliability and capacity, two of the four lines to Lake Country from Vernon will be upgraded from 12kv to 25kV. In addition power will soon be fed from Fortis’ new Duck Lake substation under agreement between BC Hydro and Fortis. Click here for the full presentation. Upgrades to be completed by next winter!

Corporate Business Plan for 2011-2015

Council approved the Corporate Business Plan which provides a general direction and the tools needed to accomplish the vision of Mayor and Council, based on their priorities and general vision. It includes the Corporate Mission Statement and the Corporate Values, which represent the foundation of our business culture. The Plan is structured to include a profile of the organization, a description of its services and the major accomplishments realized since incorporation. It then provides the Corporation and Departmental main priorities and their financial implications with the intent to facilitate the Corporate Budget Process and 5-Year Financial Plan. Click here to view the Corporate Business Plan.

Okanagan Transit Advisory Committee

That District will be participating in an Okanagan Transit Advisory Committee along with Kelowna, Vernon, West Kelowna, Peachland and the RDCO. Because the transit system in the Okanagan continues to grow, it becomes more complex and the governance is becoming increasing challenging under the current model. The committee, which was modeled after a similar committee in the Fraser Valley, will make recommendations to Councils and provide a coordinated approach on transit issues such as service changes, fares, improvements, efficiencies, funding and governance. Mayor Baker was appointed as the Lake Country representative and Councillor Guenther was appointed as the alternate.

Lake Country Flag

The concept of a District flag to be used at events like UBCM, SILGA and other ceremonial events, was originally brought to Council in March. From there it was forwarded to the Public Art Advisory Commission (PAAC) for help in developing the flag and enlisting the support of youth in doing so. The flag that was proposed in a tight timeline to be ready for UBCM was met with some resistance and Council felt more community and youth input was needed. Last night Council approved a new process suggested by PAAC, which includes 4 phases that will engage the public for ideas, compile and shortlist the submissions and hire a graphic artist to complete the final version of the flag. $2,000 was allotted to cover the costs of the honorariums and the graphic artist.

Water Master Plan

A huge step forward towards the Water Master Plan but there is still a long way to go! Council endorsed Water Master Plan Option 2 as the preferred water quality improvement option and directed staff to evaluate the details and begin preparing a financial strategy. The Water Master Plan is intended to set the District’s direction for water servicing in the community for decades to come. IHA has requested the plan be done and Mould Engineering was hired to help complete the updated plan. The initial work plan began in the summer of 2009 and in June 2010 the WSAC reviewed and endorsed the 4 short listed options. Click here to view the complete report that went to Council.