For about an hour and a half Monday night, Osoyoos residents had the chance to change the fate of the town in 2016.

More than 15 members of the public showed up to council’s special open budget meeting Jan. 18, where they weighed in on the town’s proposed 2016 budget and pitched their proposed changes to council.

Although Mayor Sue McKortoff made it clear the meeting was simply a chance for council to hear public concerns – not to debate their merits – 10 people stood before her and councillors Mike Campol and Jim King, CAO Barry Romanko and Financial Services Director Jim Zakal to plead their cases.

While requests ranged from saving parking spaces in front of a local business to investing tens of thousands of dollars into affordable housing, the issue that got the most attention was the condition of 68th Avenue.

Three residents spoke about their safety concerns with the road. Those concerns were best summed up by local resident Brad Elenko.

Elenko, a consultant who works in a building on the street.

He pointed out that the road is a main route for pedestrians, including lots of young children, travelling to the elementary school and Sonora Community Centre, but “does not have sidewalks, curbs and storm drainage, and does not have a safe intersection at Main Street.”

For Elenko, that means kids “are required to take a very unsafe passage” along the street, where they often have to walk on the road itself, behind parked cars.

He said “a serious injury is imminent,” as it’s only a matter of time before a driver who can’t see a child behind their car backs right into them.

Elenko told council he felt compelled to bring the matter to its attention, because upgrades to the road aren’t scheduled until 2020, while what he feels are less important roads are far ahead in the queue.

“It simply doesn’t seem reasonable for town council to consider fixing road surfaces on roads that have curbs, gutters, drainage and sidewalks when 68th Avenue is heavily used by public, yet does not have the basic road elements, including a sidewalk,” he said.

Tony Zelko also expressed his concerns about the road to council. He’s also been waiting for improvements to the road, which he said council promised more than 10 years ago.

“I am waiting for that miracle moment now for 11 years, and I haven’t seen any improvement there, not at all. I’m very disappointed and I would urge our new council to do something about that. Don’t let me wait another 11 years,” he said.

Another, much larger, strip of pavement was also brought to council’s attention, when Glen Harris of the Osoyoos Airport Development Society, urged it to continue to upgrade the Osoyoos Airport, which he said is a “vital community asset.”

Romanko told Harris the town plans to set aside $35,000 to study the impact of repurposing the airport for industrial uses in 2016.

“Once it’s gone it’s gone forever. I want to make it vitally clear that this is an important community asset we’d best take seriously and analyze it properly,” Harris replied.

He pointed out that it was “interesting” how most of the initiatives looking at the benefits of an upgraded airport have been privately funded through the community, while council plans to set aside money to look at the opposite side of the issue.

“We just want to make sure we have both sides of the story in regard to the airstrip,” McKortoff said.

Aside from those advocating for specific budget issues, a few presenters, like Birgit Arnstein of the Osoyoos Lake Water Quality Society and Gary Dell of Cactus Jalopies, also came with their proverbial hats in hands, asking council to help fund their organizations.

After the meeting, Mayor McKortoff said hearing from the public before council finalizes the budget is “extremely valuable.”

She said she and the other members of council would take the information from the public into final budget deliberations.

She didn’t say exactly how much weight the public opinions would carry, instead pointing out that 2016 spending hasn’t been decided on yet.

“It’s not finalized yet,” she said in reference to the budget, raising her eyebrows and pressing her lips together with a knowing smile.

Elenko said he wasn’t sure how much of an impact his presentation would have on council’s final budget decisions, but he feels better knowing that it now has all the information readily available.

TREVOR NICHOLS

Regional Reporter