'The front door for big development'

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

PIB Chief Jonathan Kruger speaks at Rotary luncheon on Wednesday

The Penticton Indian Band and the City are bridging together in more ways than one.

Penticton Indian Band Chief Jonathan Kruger shared information regarding the new bridge across the Okanagan River Channel and other current PIB matters at a Rotary lunch in Penticton on Wednesday.

First and foremost on his topic list was the bridge, which started construction this week.

"This is the front door for the big economic development. This is really going to showcase the city of Penticton," he said.

Kruger was introduced to the crowd by Mayor Andrew Jakubeit, who emphasized that the city and Penticton Indian Band are working towards having prosperous communities working together.

Kruger initially reiterated that theme, saying the PIB has a great working relationship with the city and regional district.

He then focused on the planning that has gone into the newly begun construction, stating he could write a book on just this bridge.

The current goal, he said is a land use plan to really beautify the river channel, which includes inspiring locatee owners along the channel.

"We are hoping to see multiple use. It is important to all of us to have more jobs and a bigger tax base he said. "We really hope to see a Costco coming in, and we will be working with the locatees helping as much as we can."

He stressed that he can't wait to show off drawings of what the new multi-use plan, including restaurants and walkways, will look like.

Work on the new bridge is expected to be completed in October, however, there are some timelines they are working with, such as shutting down the bridge project for Coyote Cruises in the summer months, he said.

Kruger further touched on longstanding issues regarding the Canadian Pacific Railway and the success of the Aboriginal Business Match, which has now taken place twice in Penticton.

It is a place where companies and First Nations come together to talk about priorities, which has thus far generated millions of dollars worth of business.

This year Aboriginal Business Match West 2015 is slated for May at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.

In terms of the Penticton Regional Airport, Kruger said he was really worried about recent discussions concerning changing the management of the airport.

"I don't want fighting over the airport issue," he said. "We have written a letter to Transport Canada saying they have to talk to all of us."

When it comes to other economic growth, he said the Skaha Hills development is going well, with the first phase sold out before the showroom was built. 

When questioned about last summer's Boonstock Music and Arts Festival, he said that's a locatee issue.

"If Boonstock ever happens again, I hope it will be a sanctioned event with a beer garden and a security plan in place," he said.

He added that he is still heartbroken that a young lady lost her life at the event.

Lastly, he said, one more thing the PIB is talking about is medical marijuana.

"In our land use plan we asked our members to write everything they would like to see," he said. "There was a whole bunch of things and one on the list was medicinal marijuana and hemp production."

There have been community meetings already on the matter and right now they are going into discussions with cannabis producer Kaneh Bosm BioTechnology, he added.

If it all moves ahead it will go to a referendum.