Editor:
To His Worship the mayor and Council of the Town of Osoyoos.
It would be a great mistake to build a dock and marina next to Lions Park.
Motor boats zooming in and out of that location would leave films of oil and gas floating on the water next to a swimming area while also endangering the swimmers.
The noise would be great, too much for the residents of the surrounding area.
It would create a congested area of cars and trucks pulling boats on trailers in this small area.
Think ahead 50 or 100 years from now.
Our town will grow and will need more ground space.
The lot on Highway 3 (Motel Row) which the Town presently uses for the parking of boat trailers will not stay empty forever.
The owner of that lot will build on it one day, and as a result trailers will no longer be parked there.
So, where will they go?
You wouldn’t want to build something that someone else will have to tear down and move to another location in the future.
The piece of land where the Sailing Club is situated should be landscaped and be a part of the Park System joining Kinsman and Gyro Park up to Lions Park.
WE need this.
Think of the future!
Wouldn’t it be great to carry on with the Pioneer Walkway through Gyro and Kinsmen Park up to the Lions Park!
Then Osoyoos could be proud of its Council.
Yes, the citizens of Osoyoos deserve a Marina and a Dock with Launching Ramp as do the tourists that come here and help support our economy.
However, it should not be in the location as presently proposed!
I know that the builders of the Watermark project are putting pressure on the Town.
They are willing to pay their share of the costs, but you can’t give in to big developers.
Our town Council must listen to its citizens.
There is still a lot of empty shoreline around Lake Osoyoos where a Marina could be built, with plenty of land for trailers from Lacey’s Point to Willow Beach or south of town on the east side of the lake, where the tourists are.
Our Town Council should get together with the Regional District and the Council of the Osoyoos Indian Band and all work together to find a suitable location for this project, which then would serve all of the people of greater Osoyoos for many years to come.
Please reconsider the present choice of location as it would be a great mistake to be pressured by big developers into doing something which is not in the best interest of the Citizens of our town of Osoyoos.
George Mahovlic,
Osoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-June 30, 2010

CONCERNS ABOUT TRANSIENTS

Editor:
Are we losing our parks and our town to transients?
Walking past Lions Family Park we have often seen many transients drinking with their four to five dogs running around loose.
At Gyro Beach there are about 160 transients drinking and smoking pot.
We met the Bylaw Enforcement Officer and told him about Lions Park.
He said his job was to patrol Gyro Park and keep transients from drinking and could not get down to Lions Park.
I told him about transients washing clothes in the lake and drying them on the fence in Gyro Park, by the Lawn Bowling green, asked him to get them to take them down.
His actual words were “no way, it is too dangerous.”
He was having enough of a problem with them drinking and taking their liquor away.
We have been told by council that this is a “tourist town.”
We would not let our visiting grandchildren go to any of these public parks.
Any tourist stopping in Osoyoos and taking one look at the beach would not want to stop here.
Let’s have a stronger patrol presence with more officers in groups of two or more instead of one being alone and in danger.
Instead of being afraid of these transients let us somehow take back our parks and town.
Al  Schultz,
Osoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-June 30, 2010