Looking for lookout help

Photo: Kate Bouey

File photo.

The Transportation Ministry is seeking help from a community group or municipality to help it fight the weeds at the Kalamalka Lake lookout, a rest area off Highway 97, south of Vernon.

A letter of complaint was fired off to the ministry some months ago over the tall weeds and general lack of maintenance at the site which has a spectacular view of Kal Lake.

“We've had a number of problems at the rest area, a lot of it to do with vandalism,” said Erik Lachmuth, area roads manager, who spoke to the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee Thursday. “The trees were pulled out by vandals and left there and we had to recently replace the trees.

“In addition to that we've had some damage to the infrastructure there, some graffiti problems and what not and that's all taken care of by our maintenance contractor.”

However the contractor is not responsible for the weeds unless they are noxious or invasive.

That is a problem for area politicians, including Coldstream director Doug Dirk, who has personally taken a weed wacker to the site.

“No, I'm not satisfied with the state of the lookout but I'm better informed about what the ministry will and won't do,” Dirk said.

The ministry plans to review its policy in two years and Dirk is hopeful it will include cleaning up normal weeds.

“The full maintenance should be included, not just a portion,” said Bob Fleming, electoral area B director.

He said the matter would be brought up with the transportation minister during a meeting at the Union of BC Municipalities convention later this month.

“We've been looking into finding some local community group or even municipality that would be interested in adopting that aesthetic improvement to the rest area,” said Lachmuth.

He said the group could be recognized through the government's Adopt-A-Highway volunteer program.