Is there Anything Happening in Lake Country? Part 3

This week I would like to continue the story of what’s happening in Lake Country with more details on infrastructure, water and the Parks and Recreation Department.  If you have read Alberto’s blogs then you are familiar with his story of the grasshopper and the ant where the grasshopper spends all summer with his feet up, relaxing while the ants run around preparing for the long, chilly winter ahead.  Of course we all know that the District’s infrastructure is vital to the wellbeing of our citizens and businesses. But did you know that much of our infrastructure will be reaching the end of its useful life over the next few decades?  The District has prepared a 20 year plan called the Integrated Asset Management Capital Plan (IAMCP), which is a really long name for a plan that tells us what needs to be replaced, when it needs to be replaced and how much it’s going to cost. The IAMCP is the District being ants. Not only are we going to be prepared for when the time comes, we are already working like little ants to get ready for the long winter ahead. Some of the things already underway are:

·         The Liquid Waste Management Plan, which is being updated with the Ministry of Environment, gives us a 20 year plan for how we collect and manage liquid waste. It is being done at the same time as the predesign for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase 3 Expansion to make sure we are continuing to move forward with our plans.

·         The $5 million Kal Lake Interconnect project will give us the ability to put Kal Lake Water into the Oyama Lake water source giving us more options, and more water, in times of drought and during peak seasons. It will include 1 new reservoir, a new pump station, new pipelines (already done!) and ultraviolet disinfection capabilities.

·         I’m hoping everyone has heard of our Water Master Plan project? We have done mail outs, held information sessions and done presentations to as many committees (both internal and external) that we could get to. The Water Master Plan final documents will be presented to Council in early 2012 and then water rates will be discussed by the new Council during budget time.

And where do we even begin with the Parks and Recreation Department, which is now called the Parks, Recreation and Culture Department. Their list of Capital Projects goes on for an entire page! Just look at all the great amenities we have in Lake Country: tennis courts, the Trethewey Splash Park, Padel courts and some of the most beautiful and sought after soccer fields in the entire Okanagan. 

This year the Lakes Resident Association and the District joined forces to build the Apex Drive Park project. The Association provided free pizza and masses of people (ok maybe not masses but definitely swarms) came out to help build this wonderful asset to the community.

The Winfield Recreation Centre is continuing along its expansion phases which saw new dressing rooms and door upgrades last year with refrigeration, compressors, dehumidifier upgrades and a lighting retrofit in 2011.  Not only did the lighting upgrades help us reduce our carbon footprint by replacing 35 year old light fixtures with a new, high efficiency system, we were also able to install some groovy lights that make the winter DJ skates a huge hit! Check out this video from the first skate event using the new system.

The Parks, Recreation and Culture Department also made the move of bringing contracted services in-house this year which has turned out to be a huge advantage.  Services have improved significantly with no budget impact, the parks staff are highly skilled and have the specific knowledge, equipment and training to get at the problem, get it fixed and do it quickly.

This was also the first year that Lake Country got involved in the Communities in Bloom Project with Kelowna offering to mentor us for the first go around. Everyone in Lake Country dashed around cleaning, planting and making our already beautiful community shine. On July 20^th the judges arrived and were loaded into a bus for the grand tour. And do you know what they saw? Shiny, happy people… …everywhere! A family was enjoying a beautiful afternoon at Kopje Park, the Lake Country Boys and Girls Club had the kids on a field trip at the Swalwell Park, there was a tournament being held at the tennis courts, a group of people from the Connect Brain Injury Clinic were visiting the Community Gardens, Padel was in full swing, the soccer fields were full and kids were enjoying the playground at Jack Seaton Park. Not only were the judges impressed but staff were moved by what they saw.  Sometimes just stepping back to see and appreciate what we already have in our wonderful little Lake Country can inspire us in moving forward and making it even better.

The Parks projects may be ones that are most visible in the community but there are so many other things going on behind the scenes (and under the ground) in the District.  All these projects, and the dedicated staff that are working on them, are so vitally important to the growth, sustainability and health of our community.  We are planning and working for the future so we can continue to live Life…the Okanagan Way.

Reyna

Reduce and Simplify

The District of Lake Country has experienced rapid growth in recent years and it also depends heavily on its residents rather than local businesses and industry for its tax revenues. It just makes sense, then, that the District operates effectively (doing the right things), efficiently (doing things right) and economically (operating at least cost). Current economic conditions are not conducive to much growth and real estate business has been flat for a while now. For these reasons, our taxpayers will be hard pressed to foot a high tax increase or one at all. In order to find the budget efficiencies we need to balance our budget by keeping our levels of service the same without any substantial tax increase, we have initiated an organizational review and I wish to provide some information on the scope and work-plan of this project.


SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
The scope of this review is to examine all District services and contracts with the exception of the fire department and police service  (we just completed a fire department strategic plan and the RCMP is not under our direct jurisdiction). In addition, we have identified the following three objectives that the review will focus on:

• Examine the organization structure to determine if it can be more effective and efficient;
• Identify opportunities to reduce, prevent, control and recover operating costs; and
• Coach District leaders in improving municipal administration and operations.

WORK-PLAN
There will be an initial information gathering phase where we are going to: a) define role, responsibilities, accountabilities, concerns and ideas for improvement; and b) review financial statements, budget, OCP and other municipal reports and statistics. The second phase will be to identify key business processes in the District, such as issuing development permits, building inspections, bylaw enforcement, tax billing and collections, recreation planning, and economic development, to cite a few. During this phase we will also asses three key business processes to identify improvements and cost reduction opportunities by reviewing resource requirements, cycle times, reporting, service levels, and customer satisfaction.  Then we will apply core service review criteria to the major District services and compare District's operations and costs to other municipalities, we will identify opportunities for improving costs, and we will develop and assess opportunities to improve the organization structure and accountabilities.

WHEN WILL THIS BE DONE BY?
The information gathering has already started and, except for a brief break for Christmas, we will continue this review with the hope to provide initial recommendations to Council for budget purposes sometime in December.  A final report is expected to be submitted to Council in February 2012. Due to the aggressive timeline we have set out to meet, we will need the assistance of a consultant. The person who will do this review for us is Dugal Smith, a management consultant for 37 years who spent 14 years as a partner with Price Waterhouse.

Thank you very much for your support on this and if you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact me in writing at administrator@lakecountry.bc.ca
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What’s on the Agenda Tonight? Only three Council Meetings before the Election

We have another Council meeting this evening. After this one, there will be only two more left for this Council due to the municipal election on November 19^th.  Let's take a peak of what's on the agenda for tonight.


DAVIDSON ROAD IMPROVEMENTS
At the last Council meeting, Councillor Gambell tabled a Notice of Motion requesting that we do more improvement work on Bond road following the improvements we have made don Davidson road. In addition, Councillor Gambell would like to widen the road stretch at the westbound stop intersection of Davidson and Bond as some concern was expressed on the new design of that intersection. She would like also this work to be done now for safety reasons. As this is a budget issue ($25,000 will be needed to do this), there will be some discussion at the Council table about the motion. The issue of safety was addressed in a report from Greg Buchholz, which is on the agenda. The design and work was done by expert engineers and workers and it was checked by ICBC for safety. Staff has been assured that the work has increased the safety of the intersection but residents feel otherwise. So this evening, Council will attempt to find a solution.


ANNOUNCEMENTS 

1. We are still looking for volunteers for our committees. We know that it is difficult to give precious time to the community when economic times are so tough, but we hope to have a good number to get these committees going. 
2. The semi-annual water bills are due on October 31^st.
3. This week (October 17^th – 23^rd) is Waste Reduction Week. Please be conscious of waste reduction efforts at home and at work and recycle all that you can. It's important to our quality of life.
   
4. British Columbia Youth Parliament is seeking for applicants. If you know of a young man or woman that are interested in politics and in learning how our political system works, please talk to them about this great opportunity. Applications are found at www.bcyp.org
   
5. Finally, if you are going to be out of town on Municipal Election day (Saturday, November 19^th) or have made other plans to enjoy that weekend, you can vote on November 9^th and November 15^th at the Municipal Hall between 8am and 8pm. Don't be shy and come out to vote.

LAND USE APPLICATIONS
The rezoning bylaw (Royston) for the property on Chase road, which is somewhat a continuation to the South of the Sage Glen subdivision, is going to Council for final adoption. It could have been approved at the last meeting two weeks ago, but Council had requested more information about water availability to both the new development and the farm properties in the area. The answer is that there is enough water and more for that area and that response was provided to Council.


A request for a Temporary Permit to store heavy equipment on a property on Chase road against zoning regulations is again on the agenda.  Staff has recommended Council to deny the request after Council had asked that the property owner be given an opportunity to comply with regulations and address other zoning issues to no avail.


In order to correct some minor errors, the Lakestone property will have to go through a 'cosmetic' amendment (if I can define it that way). Because there is absolutely no change in the purpose and scope of the development, staff have requested Council to waive the Public Hearing requirements.


OTHER MATTERS
We have a delegation from the Open Air Performances. Carmelo Scarpino (a nice Italian fellow J) will provide Council with the highlights and review of the 2011 season, which went very, very well.


A couple of Bylaw Enforcement matters: a house on 4410 McCoubrey road did not pass the final inspection so Council will be asked that we place a Notice on Title on the property. A garage was built but no inspections were completed at 15611 Roberts Road. In addition, there are setback problems and the property owner has not provided the required documentation. Also in this case, Council will be asked to place a Notice on Title.


The Finance Department is recommending Council to approve a grant-in-aid to the Lake Country Food Assistance Society in order to waive the rent of the Creekside Theatre for the Society's Christmas Musical Fundraiser event, which will be held on December 10^th.


Finally, the Fire Prevention Bylaw is on the agenda for final adoption.


SOME ELECTION PROCEDURAL MATTERS
The Public Comment period and the Council Questions and Answers period will be taken off the agenda as of tonight and until after the election to guarantee a fair election process (in other words, one can't campaign by using a public meeting).


Reyna will provide you with the outcome of the meeting
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Is there Anything Happening in Lake Country? Part 2

This week's contributor is Reyna Seabrook, the District's Executive Assistant and Communication Officer. There are also two pictures of the proposed design for Lodge Road. If you click on the picture you will be able to enlarge it to see some of the details.

 
"A few weeks ago Alberto gave an update on what's happening in Lake Country. He spoke about economic development, branding, Town Centre development and other achievements that are not only putting Lake Country on the map, but creating a strong, sustainable and vibrant community.

 
So what else has been going on in Lake Country? I thought about listing all of our capital projects, but by the time I got to page 4, I started to think about how much room I actually have in this article. Needless to say, there are many (all listed in the 2011 budget) and we are working on all of them.

 
One big change the District made this year, which is turning out to be a huge success, was the decision to bring some of our roads contracts in-house. You may have seen Gary and Al around the community doing all sorts of jobs from painting to picking up garbage, talking to people in the community, responding to calls for drainage issues and animal pick-up. The switch to in-house has allowed us to be more proactive with our maintenance programs resulting in less weather related problems and has also improved service call response time exponentially. Gary and Al are both long-time residents of Lake Country and like many residents they are proud to live here and want to see this community look its best.

 
Have you ever heard someone say "Lake Country is a great place to live – but not always the easiest place to get around?" I can see you nodding your head, and we are nodding along with you. One of our top capital priorities is the Integrated Transportation Framework; a project that looks at all modes of transportation in Lake Country, not just vehicle traffic. It promotes liveability and health, connects neighbourhoods to schools and parks, includes multi-modal transportation options for transit and accessibly and makes transportation convenient, easy to use and barrier free.

 
So how are we going to do this? Let's go back to our Capital projects list and talk about a couple of more projects that fit into the Integrated Transportation Framework. First up, Lodge Road: We all know how many people use Lodge Road, especially the kids walking to GESS, and we all know that something needs to be done to improve this area. The Lodge Road Transportation Corridor design is well underway with pre-design and preliminary cost estimates already completed. The Lodge Road Project will be going out to tender in early 2012 and construction is planned to begin in the summer of 2012. Some of the highlights of the project include:

• a round-about at Lodge and Bottom Wood Lake Road intersection
• 3.5 metre travel lanes and a 1.5 metre bike lanes
• 2 metre sidewalk – separated from the roadway with a bio-swale* to control and treat Stormwater drainage prior to entering Vernon Creek (ps if you are thinking "what the heck is a bio-swale?" don't worry, I asked the same question. Basically it's a section of gently sloped land with native plants and vegetation separating the road from the pathway to control runoff water.)
• Pedestrian Bridge at Vernon Creek
• LED Street Lighting & landscape trees

The Davidson Road Project was another capital project identified as an area that needed improvements to both infrastructure and safety. The approximately 450 metre asphalt curb and pathway was done in a completely cost-effective manner with all the engineering standards being met or exceeded. The pathway was also completed in time for the students returning to school.
We definitely have to acknowledge one of our biggest partners in helping us work towards achieving our goal of integrated transportation in Lake Country. The Walk Around Lake Country, or WALC as they are known, volunteers are un-ending in their devotion to this community. They are helping the District identify the top pedestrian active transportation linkages and working with us to integrate them into the Integrated Transportation Framework plan.

 
Other projects that you may have noticed around the community:

• In response to meeting and working with the group GESS Student group, Teens 4 Change, a 30 km/hr school zone was put in in front of the school along with an additional crosswalk to increase student safety.
• In response to a petition received from residents in the Lakes subdivision about the speed of traffic on Lake Hill Drive, traffic calming devices were installed at the Shoreline intersection and rumble strips were placed at the Oceola intersection. Next year we will also be putting in a crosswalk at Oceola and Lake Hill Drive.
• Middle Bench Road was renewed and the drainage was improved.
• We received a beautification grant from BC Hydro to remove the power poles along Main Street and Bottom Wood Lake Road which also helps improve site line visibility in the school zone.
• To help improve transit we installed 7 brand new bus shelters complete with solar lighting.

 
These projects are just the starting points to an idea of creating a living community with vibrant and environmentally friendly networks…and just think how sweet it will be to hear …. "Lake Country is so easy and enjoyable to get around while being safe at the same time!"

 
Reyna Seabrook"

October 4th Council Meeting Highlights

Zoning Amendment (Royston) Bylaw 795, 2011
The Royston Zoning Amendment Bylaw proposes to rezone the property at 9614 Chase Road from single family to duplex. After a discussion and a request for additional information from staff on the water supply to the property, Council gave Bylaw 795 third reading.

Zoning Amendment (Russo) Bylaw 784, 2011

The Russo Zoning Amendment Bylaw proposes to re-zone 8 large rural lots along Oyama Road and was met with some controversy at the Public Hearing on June 7^th. Residents expressed concern about the subdivided property sizes and sufficient ground water in the area. The bylaw had been referred back to staff to consider a reduction in density and a site specific zone of Rural Large Parcel Oyama Road which would allow limited subdivision while maintaining the OCP vision of a rural area.  The amended bylaw reduces the number of lots on the northernmost properties by 3. Council had a lengthy discussion about the water availability on the properties and the effect that subdividing would have on the surrounding properties.  Council’s motion to send the bylaw back to a public hearing was defeated and a second motion giving the bylaw 3^rd reading subject to receiving a hydrogeological report that meets the satisfaction of the Approving Officer prior to 4^th reading, was passed.

Development Variance Permit 12976 East Ridge Ct.

The applicant received a Building Permit authorizing the construction of a single family dwelling unit at 12976 East Ridge Court. The structure was located within the rear‐yard setback of the property. The applicant built the home as per the plans and a variance permit is now required to authorize the encroachment into the setback before final occupancy can be issued. Council approved Development Variance Permit 2010-010 relaxing the rear yard setback from 6 to 3.7 m.

Subdivision Application 15042 Oyama Road

A portion of Oyama Road crosses private property located at 15042 Oyama Road and the owner of the property suggested swapping a laneway located along the rear side of the property for the trespassing roadway.  The laneway is also owned by the District and Council supported staff’s recommendation in rejecting the proposed application on the basis that the travelled portion of Oyama Road is protected under the Provincial Transportation Act. If the land swap was approved the District would be trading its own land (the laneway) for land that the District has control of by way of provincial legislation.

Corporate Business Systems Review

In view of the unfortunate threat of another recession being more real than ever and in order to alleviate possible tax increases in the 2012 budget the Chief Administrator Officer requested that Council initiate a Business Systems Review with the intent of finding efficiencies within the budget. It was suggested that Council contemplate a conservative financial plan and find efficiencies within the current and future budget to minimize tax and fee increases to the maximum extent possible while trying to minimize the effect on current services. The assistance of an external, experienced professional is necessary to provide an unbiased approach to the methodology and Council authorized staff to proceed with the Business Systems Review allocating $30,000 from prior years’ general fund accumulated surplus for this project which will be completed in time for budget deliberations.

Letter of Support for the Okanagan Indian Band

The Okanagan Indian Band is submitting a proposal to the BC Capacity Initiative to assist in its land‐use planning goals and requested a letter of support from the District Country to include with their proposal. The BC Capacity Initiative is a federal initiative committed to “supporting First Nations to enhance their capacity to prepare for consultation, negotiation, implementation or management of land and resources components of current or future aboriginal title settlement agreements”. Council was happy to assist the application by providing a letter of support.

Fire Prevention Bylaw

The District’s previous Fire Prevention Bylaw was adopted shortly after incorporation and as the District has evolved it has become evident that the fire department requires prevention language in the bylaw to address specific concerns within the community considering the department’s staffing and resource capabilities. Besides providing updated language, the proposed Fire Prevention Bylaw 800, 2011 will adopt the BC Fire Code, relocate the Regional District of the Central Okanagan’s Fireworks Bylaw into the Lake Country bylaw and be linked to the MTI and Adjudicated ticketing process for enforcement purposes. The bylaw revision was one of the fire department’s 2011 strategic objectives and Council gave 3 readings to Fire Prevention Bylaw 800, 2011, Bylaw Notice Enforcement Amendment Bylaw 801, 2011 and Municipal Ticketing Information Amendment Bylaw 802, 2011

Davidson Road Pathway

Councillor Gambell provided a Notice of Motion for discussion by Council requesting that $25,000 from prior years’ general fund accumulated surplus be allocated to continue the pedestrian pathway northwards up Bond Road and to straighten the pathway section at the intersection of Davidson and Bond Roads and that the work be completed in the Fall of 2011.  Staff will provide a report on the Notice of Motion for the next Council meeting.

Council Meeting News

ANNOUNCEMENTS

We are still looking for volunteers for our committees as several positions are available because terms have expired. It is difficult to find people that wish to give free time when there is so much economic turmoil nowadays.  We are also reminding people that Nomination Packages are available for the upcoming Municipal Election. I believe one aspiring candidate has filed with Hazel this morning.  We are also informing the public that water bills have been mailed and payments are due on October 31. Finally it's going to be Waste Reduction Week the week of October 17.

LAND DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS

We are asking Council to approve a Development Variance Permit to relax the rear yard property setback for a home at the Lakes (12976 East Ridge Court). In this case, DLC incorrectly issued the permit for the structure so we are fixing the problem. We are also proposing adoption of rezoning of the property immediately south of the Sage Glen subdivision on Chase Road to allow the construction of attainable housing (mostly duplexes) on the property. We will then deal with a request to swap land with the District with the intent to close a  laneway on Oyama Road.  In reality we already own the road under provincial legislation so we are asking Council to reject the proposal. Finally, Council will deal with the proposed rezoning of large portions of land in Oyama to create 21 lots and subdivide them for future development. The owners wish to do this mostly to ensure that family members can have portions of their lands and live there, however there are concerns from the public on density and especially on servicing. It will be an item of great discussion around the Council table. In fact it will be the highlight of the evening.

ADMINISTRATION

In view of the recession and in order to alleviate possible tax increases in the 2012 budget, I am asking Council to initiate a Business Systems Review with the intent to find efficiencies within the budget. I am concerned that a tax increase would be too much at this time for our residents, especially those who have lived here for a long time and have very little disposable income.  I hope to have this completed as part of the budget process.

PROTECTIVE SERVICES

The Fire Department is proposing a new Fire Prevention Bylaw and coordination with our Bylaw Enforcement Ticketing bylaw (Municipal Ticketing Information Bylaw).  There is a lot of effort from staff to put together this bylaw and more coordination will be needed to complete it before final adoption.

DAVIDSON ROAD

The last item on the agenda is a Notice of Motion from Councillor Gambell which reads:

That Council allocate funds of up to $25,000 from prior years' general fund accumulated surplus to continue the pedestrian pathway northwards up Bond Road and to straighten the pathway section at the intersection of Davidson and Bond Roads;

And that the work be completed in the Fall of 2011

A number of residents, although pleased with Council's action to complete improvements to Davidson Road, have expressed the desire to further improve the safety features at Bond and Davidson and I believe this motions is trying to address those requests.

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