Council has asked staff to prepare a linear park plan to beautify the Fairview Road/Gala Street area.
A strip of barren land in the 700 block (south side) of Fairview Road is being targeted for beautification.
The plan will also reach out to land on the east side of Gala Street, north of School Avenue.
In addition, a traffic roundabout is being considered at the intersection of Spartan Street and Fairview Road.
Director of Operations Shawn Goodsell said a roundabout will help with pedestrian safety and traffic calming on Fairview Road.
School District 53 has approached the Town with respect to the road allowance at Fairview Road and Gala Street adjacent to the Frank Venables Theatre.
Municipal Manager Tom Szalay indicated that consideration should be given to having new concrete poured here at a minimal cost of $10,000 to allow the school district to landscape up to it.
Town staff were directed to include $200,000 into the 2014 general capital budget to be funded as follows: $198,000 from parks development cost charges; and $2,000 from general reserves.
Irrigation start-up date set
The Town will start diverting water from the canal on April 1 in preparation for irrigation season.
The irrigation start-up date is April 10, but staff will turn the water on April 7 to get everyone’s system ready.
Early budget release approved
Council has authorized the expenditure of $24,300 for three information technology projects prior to adopting its five-year financial plan.
The projects include server replacement, a backup system and virtualization project. Virtual reality? Sorry, it’s not that entertaining. This project makes backup easier.
The Town’s current server is old and is beginning to fail. That’s why replacement is necessary at a cost of $17,800.
Power to the new hangar
The Town will spend $44,500 to supply electrical power and telecommunications to a new 10-bay hangar at the Oliver airport.
The Town recently entered into a lease agreement allowing construction of an aircraft hangar on Airport Street south of Skagit Avenue.
FortisBC said its cost (paid by the tenant) to provide underground power to the hangar is $22,000.
Councillor Jack Bennest said he finds the costs that developers must pay to get power to their buildings are “out of this world.”
Headhunter hired
The Town of Oliver has hired a “headhunter” to find a new municipal manager to replace Tom Szalay who is retiring.
The Town received 15 applications from various search companies, but in the end chose Waterhouse Executive Search at a cost of $17,500.
Szalay is retiring in August.
Mayor Ron Hovanes said the Town has been fortunate to have Szalay for more than 20 years.
Councillor Jack Bennest said the Town didn’t use a headhunter back then. “We did it all by ourselves.”
Send in those nominations
Mayor Ron Hovanes is reminding residents to nominate their favourite person for a “Spirit of Oliver” award.
The Town wants to honour some great people who work hard to make the community a better place to live.
In the past, the Town has had to knock on doors for nominations.
People can fill out nomination forms at the Town hall or its website at www.oliver.ca
