Kelowna

The tone was positive as the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce heard first hand from Mayor Walter Gray what City Council's priorities are for the year ahead.

“Kelowna is a great place to do business, a great place to live and we want to make sure everyone knows there is a lot to be positive about,” says Gray.

Photo: Grant Scott - File photo

Kelowna Mayor Walter Gray was optimistic about the the state of Kelowna in his speech to the Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

The Mayor’s annual “state of the city” presentation to the Chamber on Friday emphasized Council’s focus on finding efficiencies at City Hall, addressing transit and housing needs and making capital investments in infrastructure to promote job creation and improve quality of life.

“Through efficiency, saving time and money, we’re looking for results and we’re setting a tone for the community that demonstrates we have our priorities straight, we are paying attention and we’re optimistic about our prospects.”

Bernard Avenue revitalization and the Downtown Plan were cited as major projects that will set the stage for renewed energy in the heart of the city. The Mayor noted two multi-storey building projects on Leon Avenue have been proposed in recent weeks.

Public transit infrastructure and service will be another area of investment this year, with the addition of late evening weekend service to UBCO, service between Quail Ridge and UBCO and direct service to the H2O Adventure and Fitness Centre and the Capital News Centre.

“In this budget year, we’re saving one-quarter of a million dollars by eliminating service where there is very low ridership – sometimes just three riders per bus. Meanwhile, we’ll expand in areas that currently have no service, like the H2O Centre, or where people are being left behind because the bus is too crowded,” says Gray.

Restructuring committees and the review process for secondary suites will result in more efficient and effective decision making, he said. He noted that the City had received more than 160 applications for secondary suites in the past three years, with just four being refused.

“We can develop a review process that makes better use of staff and Council time and resources for these decisions. The new approach would make the approval process more efficient for projects that are not opposed, and the ones that are opposed would still come to Council for a hearing.”

The provisional budget approved by Council in January will see $75 million in capital projects proceed in 2012.

Those include Multi-Age Activity Centre expansion at Parkinson Recreation Centre, new transit exchanges, drinking water and waste water treatment upgrades and plans for Stuart Park expansion, Glenmore Recreation Park and Rails with Trails expansion.