West Kelowna

NEWSOctober 2018

Light UpCity Centre

On Brown RoadFriday, Dec. 7

5 to 8 pm

FoodPrizes

MusicCrafts Giveaways

Save the

date!

The 4th Annual West Kelowna Light Up Committee is looking for community groups, churches or organizations to help make this event spectacular! Be an event sponsor, bring your choir or run an activity station. There are lots of opportunities to get involved. While you are at the event enjoy free hot drinks, a variety of activity stations, a bazaar, a visit from Santa, a concert by Cod Gone Wild and more. Mark your calendars, the event takes place on Friday, December 7th on Brown Road from 5-8pm. For more information call 778-797-8812.

Help Us Light Up the City!

Hockey fans, mark your calendars for January 20th, 2019. West Kelowna will be the location for the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour! The free family-friendly event will feature two days of live entertainment including NHL alumni, local celebrities and hockey-themed activities for all ages to enjoy. The hockey celebration will also include an outdoor viewing party of the live Sportsnet broadcast hosted by Ron MacLean and Tara Slone featuring a showdown between the Arizona Coyotes vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs.

PAGE 2 October 2018 City of West Kelowna

The City of West Kelowna’s website has won a Government Standard of Excellence Award from the Web Marketing Association’s 2018 WebAward Competition. Entries were judged on design, copy writing, innovation, content, interactivity, navigation, and use of technology. The City’s website, www.westkelownacity.ca, launched in May 2018 and was developed in partnership with eSolutions Group. The website features responsive design, a prominent, robust search function, e-notification subscription service, an online searchable directory of West Kelowna businesses and social media connectivity. Join the 2,200 people who have already subscribed to receive news and event notification from the City’s website at www.westkelownacity.ca/subscribe.

Award-Winning Website

Parkland Purchase The City of West Kelowna has acquired 5.34

hectares (13.2 acres) of land located at 2100 Westlake Road for park purposes. The property is adjacent to a recently acquired property on McDougall Road that is the site of a multi-purpose indoor sports facility currently in the design stage and Rosewood Sportsfield. 3.64 hectares (9.0 acres) of the property was purchased by the City for future athletic fields and 1.70 hectares (4.2 acres) was donated by the landowner to accommodate a nature trail and nature park. The 3.65 hectare future athletic field site was purchased for $4.25 million. The acquisition provides the City with a consolidated 7.89 hectare (19.5 acres) of parkland which offers numerous configuration options, ability to accommodate future growth, host tournaments as well as provides operational and maintenance efficiencies.

The project was fully funded by Parks Development Cost Charges, fees that municipalities collect from new development to pay for new or expanded parkland.

The City has bought this property for future athletic

field and trail development, the timing of planning, design and construction will be further considered as part of the City’s 10 year capital planning process.

The property was purchased from the decedents of Mar Fee and Mar Jok, brothers who emigrated from China to Canada in 1912.

Rogers Hometime Hockey Is Coming To West Kelowna!

City of West Kelowna October 2018 PAGE 3

With fall upon us bears will be active in preparation for winter denning. Of the 152 black bear reports from the West Kelowna and Westbank area that were made to the Conservation Officer Service (COS) and WildSafeBC’s Wildlife Alert Reporting Program (WARP) from August 1, 2017 to July 31, 2018 (pictured on map above), 53% of these reports were made in just three months of the year, September, October & November. During this transition of the seasons, bears eat as much as possible to increase their body weight by approximately 30%. This phase for bears is called hyperphagia.

As bears are opportunistic feeders they will eat almost anything they can get their paws on. Of the 152 black bear reports mentioned above, 81 identified the presence of attractants, and garbage was involved in 60% of the reports (red bears on map), with fruit trees in 20% (purple bears on map). Other attractants identified included compost, livestock and bird feeders. As such, WildSafeBC would like to remind residents about the importance of attractant management and what you can do to help reduce conflict this time of year. Please keep your garbage secure in a shed or garage until collection day, and if that is not possible then freeze kitchen or other smelly garbage, and wait until the morning of collection to place it in the cart. If you have fruit trees, please pick ripe fruit from the tree, and any that has fallen to the ground immediately.

For more information on local wildlife, like and follow WildSafeBC Okanagan Westside on Facebook or if you are a school teacher or member of a community group contact Meg Bjordal, our WildSafeBC Community Coordinator, to inquire about a free presentation at okwestside@wildsafebc.com.

Please report wildlife conflicts or bear sightings in the community to the COS at 1-877-952-7277.

Bear Conflict Peaks in the Fall

“...garbage was involved in 60% of the reports

(red bears on map)

Coming Soon E-Billing!The City of West Kelowna will soon be offering e-billing, which means in 2019 residents can sign up to receive their utility bills and property tax notices by email.

Enrolling in paperless billing is an easy, one-time process that will save you time and help save our planet’s valuable natural resources. E-billing also makes it easy for you to track past account activity and transaction details.

Watch for news on e-billing at www.westkelownacity.ca.

City of West Kelowna Office hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday (Excluding Statutory Holidays)

General Inquiries

Phone 778-797-1000Email info@westkelownacity.caAddress 2760 Cameron Road, West Kelowna, BC V1Z 2T6Fax 778-797-1001

After Hours Emergency 778-797-1000

Building 778-797-8820

Bylaw Enforcement 778-797-8810

Cemetery 778-797-8875

Development Services 778-797-8830

Engineering 778-797-8840Fire Rescue (Administration) 778-797-3200 Report Outdoor Burning 250-469-8577Human Resources 778-797-8890 Email careers@westkelownacity.caInspections 778-797-8820

Licensing 778-797-8810Mayor & Council 778-797-2210 Agendas, Minutes, Bylaws 778-797-2250Parks 778-797-8849Recreation & Culture Arena & Field Bookings 778-797-2265 Program Registration 778-797-8800 Lakeview Hall Booking 778-797-8800 Westbank Lions Hall Booking 778-797-2240Roads Maintenance 778-797-2225 After Hours 1-866-353-3136 Taxation 778-797-8860

Utility Billing 778-797-8850Utilities (Water & Sewer) Technical Inquiries 778-797-2246 Utility Emergencies 778-797-1000

www.westkelownacity.ca

PAGE 4 October 2018 City of West Kelowna

COUNCIL MEETINGSNovember 6 1:30 p.m.

(inaugural meeting of new Council)

November 27 6:00 p.m.December 11 1:30 p.m.For the most current meeting information

or to view Council meeting Webcasts, including archives of past meetings, visit

www.westkelownacity.ca/mayorandcouncilEmail Mayor & Council

mayorandcouncil@westkelownacity.ca

Open Council Meetings are Webcast live

In The NewsCitizens’ Survey ResultsCouncil received the 2018 Citizens’ Survey results in July. Just over 84% of respondents indicate their quality of life in West Kelowna is “Good” or “Very Good.” Survey respondents indicated the services not meeting expectations were drinking water quality, road maintenance, roads, street lighting, sidewalks, illegal dumping, growth planning, recreation programming for teenagers and building inspection. Full results are available at www.westkelownacity.ca/citizenssurvey.

Fire Danger Monitoring StationThis summer, West Kelowna Council got their first look at West Kelowna’s new Fire Danger Monitoring Station, located in the hills above Rose Valley. The station provides accurate weather information and was strategically-placed on a south-facing slope to give fire fighters the most accurate, West Kelowna-specific weather information. The station was installed and commissioned in 2017 fire season and provides hourly reports on temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind speed and direction. Fire danger class ratings are established through these readings. Before this station was installed, West Kelowna Fire Rescue would need to rely on information from Fintry or Penticton weather stations which was not always an accurate portrayal of weather patterns in West Kelowna. The station is a joint project between West Kelowna Fire Rescue and BC Wildfire Service, which operates approximately 260 weather stations in the province.

Election Day is October 20, 2018 in the City of West Kelowna, with advance polls on

October 10 and 16. For more information,

visit www.westkelownacity.ca/election. Subscribe to receive email notification of news and events,

including full election results on October 20, at www.westkelownacity.ca/subscribe.