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West Kelowna  

West Kelowna man helps develop work time-saving app for Xerox

Okanagan ties to Xerox app

A Western Canadian tech company with a major Okanagan connection has created an app for Xerox that should save workers some serious time.

Findan Software is technically based out of Calgary, but its president, Todd Scheven, lives and works in West Kelowna. His company has created for Xerox an app called Intelligent Filer, which uses artificial intelligence to automate document filing.

“Anyone who has worked in an office knows how time consuming and frustrating it can be to search for a mislabelled document,” Scheven said in a press release.

“This is a challenge regardless of a company’s industry or team size. Intelligent Filer eliminates the issue. At Findan, we love finding adventurous solutions to challenging problems, and we were delighted to partner with Xerox on the development of Intelligent Filer.

“I’m sure the app will save thousands of productivity hours in its first year alone.”

Findan Software, which has been a Xerox partner since 2018, spent about two years working on the app’s development and execution.





Street sweepers will be out in West Kelowna next week

Street sweeping set to start

The City of West Kelowna is advising residents to watch out for street sweepers.

Sweepers will be out in force beginning next week beginning in Gellatly Bay, Glen Canyon and Goats Peak neighbourhoods and working their way to higher elevations.

Some crews have already been out sweeping parking lots at city facilities and parks as well as at transit exchanges, bus stops, multi-use corridors and sidewalks that border public properties and arterial corridors.

To assist the city with its yearly street maintenance, residents are asked to avoid on-street parking when crews are working in your neighbourhood and when sweeping debris onto the road from in front of your house avoid sweeping them into piles as that slows the sweeping process.

Depending on weather conditions and equipment availability street sweeping will generally occur on weekdays in the following areas:

Week of March 18 to 22

  • School zones
  • Gellatly Bay, Glen Canyon, and Goats Peak
  • South Boucherie including Mission Hill, Green Bay, and West Bay

Week of March 25 to 28

  • Lakeview Heights and Casa Loma
  • Boucherie Centre

Week of April 2 to 5

  • West Kelowna Estates
  • Rose Valley

Week of April 9 to 12

  • Shannon Lake, Shannon Woods, and Tallus Ridge

Week of April 15 to 19

  • Smith Creek
  • Glenrosa

Week of April 22 to 26

  • Stevens Road and the West Kelowna Business Park
  • Upper Glenrosa
  • Bear Creek


West Kelowna will ramp up FireSmart activities in 2024

More money for FireSmart

The City of West Kelowna will be eligible for additional FireSmart funding from the province after feeling the devastating affects of last summer's McDougall Creek wildfire.

Typically, the city has been eligible for a $200,000 yearly grant to forward FireSmart programs and do fuel mitigation work. This is on top of the $50,000 provided each year by the city.

West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund told council Tuesday the province is making available an additional $100,000.

Brolund says if the city is successful in receiving the extra funding he hopes to use it to hire a second FireSmart specialist.

At the present time, the fire department has one program co-ordinator, Bryce Stirling, who assesses homes and advises homeowners on how to better FireSmart their property.

Home saved through FireSmart

One such homeowner Deanna Hamilton, who resides on Westbank First Nation land, said in a powerful video a visit by Stirling just before the McDougall Creek wildfire swept through the area likely saved her home.

Brolund said the residential program, which provided grants to 16 homeowners and made 52 assessments on homes a year ago, will continue in 2024.

Grants are limited to 50 percent of the total cost of your project up to $500.

A residential neighbourhood debris disposal program, which saw the removal of 109 yards of debris from eight neighbourhoods a year ago will be bolstered in 2024 as will be neighbourhood recognition program.

The fire department is also working with local nurseries who tag specific plants as being fire smart for residents looking for that option.

The community's Wildfire Resiliency Plan will also be updated this year.

"This is tangible work. It's making a difference," said Coun. Stephen Johnston.

"Thank you. This stuff works," added Coun. Rick de Jong.

Coun. Jason Friesen went a step further, suggesting West Kelowna council may want to follow the lead of other communities who have banned certain types of plantings.

"Maybe it's time we consider a bylaw amendment to ban the use of certain fire hazard shrubbery around homes," said Friesen.

"I continue to see new homes with cedar hedges and shrubbery close to homes."



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Retrofit of Royal LePage Place to significantly reduce GHG emissions

Moving toward GHG target

The City of West Kelowna expects to move significantly closer to its corporate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent over the next six years with a series of retrofits at Royal LePage Place.

According to facilities and recreation manager Erin Goodwin, the Mount Boucherie complex which includes Royal LePage Place, Jim Lind arena and the current city hall accounts for about 40 per cent of all corporate GHG emissions.

Goodwin says the five projects through the FortisBC incentive study will provide a 54 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the Mount Boucherie complex.

"That is equivalent to a 22 per cent reduction in our corporate greenhouse gas emissions which will have a significant impact in our city reaching a goal of a 30 per cent reduction by 2030," Goodwin told council.

The projects are expected to provide the city with $44,000 a year in energy savings with another $28,000 in carbon tax savings in 2025. Those are expected to reach $50,000 in carbon tax savings by 2030.

The overall cost of the five retrofit projects are pegged at just over $1.15 million minus nearly $500,000 in incentives.

Goodwin says the work will be done over the next two years during the annual June maintenance shutdown of Royal LePage Place.



Hedge fire spreads to West Kelowna home, causes minor damage

Hedge fire spreads to home

Fire has damaged a home in a West Kelowna neighbourhood.

West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund says the fire started in a hedge on Shannon Woods Drive and spread to the adjacent home.

The house sustained minor exterior damage. At this time, Brolund says the cause has not been determined.

The incident happened at roughly 1 p.m.



Car crashes into construction pit at Westside car wash

Car plunges into pit

Madison Reeve

UPDATE 11:50 a.m.

Police say nobody was hurt in the crash, which involved only one vehicle. No criminality is suspected.


ORIGINAL 10:40 a.m.

A car has ended up on its nose after plunging into a hole at a construction site in West Kelowna on Wednesday.

The incident occurred just before 10 a.m. beside the Vista Ridge Spraywash on Louie Drive.

"It looks like someone missed the 'do not enter' sign. There is a huge hole in the ground," said a witness.

The cause of the crash is unknown at this time, and it's unclear if there are any injuries.

Castanet has reached out to the West Kelowna RCMP for more details.



West Kelowna to investigate imposing fees for commercial use of boat launch

Looking at boat launch fees

The City of West Kelowna will investigate implementing fees for commercial use of city-owned boat launches.

While the request brought forward by Coun. Garrett Millsap received unanimous support around the council table, it's unclear when a report will even come back from staff.

"I think it would be difficult to implement right now," said interim CAO Ron Mattiussi when asked about the timing of putting such a report together.

"I think it is a good exercise and I think we should be looking at every opportunity to deal with revenue. I just worry about the timing given the number of this in play right now."

Mattiussi was referencing the additional workload being imposed on staff as a result of the province's housing legislation.

"I don't think this report is trivial. My concern is I am having a hard time at this point in time assigning someone to go and do it given what I already know is in the background."

Report when appropriate

Council did approve the motion with the provision that staff bring it back at an appropriate time.

"I don't want to see staff put it ahead of other priorities," said Coun. Stephen Johnston.

"As long as the expectation on staff isn't to realign what is already in the work flow."

Millsap brought forward the motion in response to an item in this year's budget asking taxpayers to foot a $183,000 bill for the dredging around the Gellatly boat launch.

Similar to bylaws now in place in Kelowna, Millsap believes dryland boat rentals, boat club services, boat valets, personal watercraft rentals should be paying to use the boat launch.

Given the time frame it may be difficult for the city to have bylaws in place in time for this coming boating season.



West Kelowna council block large development outside the city's growth boundary

Glenrosa project rejected

New provincial legislation around infill housing is partially to blame for a decision by West Kelowna city council to deny a large townhouse development in Upper Glenrosa.

Council said no to a 226-unit townhouse development on Gates Road, which is outside the city's growth boundary, by a 6-1 vote.

Only Coun. Carol Zanon was opposed, preferring to send the development to a public hearing.

However, there were suggestions the developer come back once the city understands the ramifications of the province's new housing legislation.

"Had you asked me about this two months ago I would have been 100 per cent...let's get shovels in the ground and let's get these housing units built," said Coun. Garrett Millsap.

"But unfortunately this is one of those unintended consequences of the provincial legislation that we just don't know what is going to happen within our growth boundary. To expand outside without a second egress in Glenrosa is to me a recipe for disaster."

Millsap suggested the developer come back once the city gets a handle on what the new legislation will look like for the city. The provincial changes will allow up to three to four units of housing on all single-family lots in the city.

No support from staff

City staff came out against the proposal, in large part, because of the location.

"We have policies to provide housing diversity but the challenge is the housing strategy doesn't contemplate growth outside of our core areas," said senior planner Brad Clifton.

"It contemplates utilizing the amenities and services we have already to support that growth recognizing expansion of those growth areas is the biggest challenge for municipalities in supporting services that go along with that growth."

Representatives of the developer, Homefield Community, told council the key to the proposal is the combination of attainable housing.

Homes would be built quickly and would use a land/lease setup in which homes would be purchased but the land below would be leased, leading to a lower cost of ownership.

Good idea wrong time

While council liked the concept and the idea of providing more attainable housing types in the city, they couldn't get past impacts of the provincial legislation.

"We have an access/egress issue in this neighbourhood that is substantial. We have new legislation that will basically streamline any development within the growth boundary that already aligns with the official community plan. We are going to have very little input," said Coun. Rick de Jong.

"What is that going to look like in our growth boundary then after June 1 every R1 lot within the growth boundary can now have a fourplex.

"It's in the wrong spot at the wrong time for this community."



Motorists should expect minor delays as work on Boucherie Road resumes this week

Delays on Boucherie Road

Boucherie Road may be a bit congested this week.

The City of West Kelowna says construction crews will be back along Boucherie Rd. to wrap up transportation upgrades and watermain work along the multi-use pathway.

Beginning Tuesday, March 12, single-lane, alternating traffic will be in effect on Boucherie Road from Mission View Court to Gregory Road weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The city says the work is expected to take approximately two weeks to complete.

The construction schedule is subject to weather conditions, contractor schedule changes and other factors.

The city is reminding motorists to drive with caution through the construction zone.



Greater Westside Board of Trade honours top businesses, people from 2023

Spotlight on Westside's best

Greater Westside Board of Trade honoured its best and brightest businesses and also named its citizen of the year during its 22nd annual Key Business Awards Gala last week at The Cove Lakeside Resort.

Melissa Grassmick from Julia’s Junction was the winner of the Geoffrey Paynter Citizen of the Year, which honours a citizen who has made outstanding contributions to the welfare of the community through involvement and participation, including significant achievements, recognition or honours, community activities, greatest strengths or special qualities.

Grassmick was awarded for her outstanding leadership, unwavering drive, commitment and unparalleled dedication to the creation of Julia’s Junction, an inclusive playground, in the heart of Westbank Town Centre.

The chamber, which represents both West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation, also dished out awards to 13 businesses for their fine work over the last 12 months. The Westside Salvation Army took home two awards, including the one for business of the year.

“As a dynamic and thriving business hub, the Greater Westside has countless achievements to commemorate,” chamber president Bryan Fitzpatrick said in a press release. “Our local business community showcases remarkable resilience and tenacity, consistently rallying together in support of each other. On behalf of the board of directors, I extend heartfelt appreciation to our title sponsor, Coast Capital Savings, as well as our corporate sponsors and judges for their pivotal role in ensuring the success of the evening.”

The award winners were:

  • Arts & Entertainment — Klick Entertainment
  • Community & Public Service — The Westside Salvation Army
  • Young Entrepreneur — Kyla King, Rad Jamz
  • Environmentally Sustainable Business — Enviro Metal Towing
  • Home Based Business — Paradigm 3D
  • Large Business — GRM Inc.
  • New Business — WanderlustStuff
  • Platinum Service Provider — 1st Class Auto Glass and Upholstery Ltd.
  • Small Business — Rad Jamz
  • Technology and Innovation — Limitless EV
  • Indigenous Business — ki?lawna? Builders Limited
  • Tourism and Hospitality — 19 Okanagan Grill + Bar
  • Business of the Year — The Westside Salvation Army


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