The Town of Oliver has received money from Emergency Management BC to effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor Martin Johansen said the funding to the Town’s Emergency Operations Centre will go towards portable toilets for domestic farm workers (and vulnerable people). These porta-potties with hand washing stations will be installed on the Town-owned lot on Main Street, at the Oliver Visitor Centre, and the empty lot on Station Street (adjacent to the food bank).
Bilingual signage promoting social distancing will be installed in parks, ball fields, beaches and the hike and bike trail.
Funds will also go towards bylaw enforcement (via park ambassadors) in May. The ambassadors will patrol local parks seven days a week providing education on social distancing.
Johansen said the Town is also preparing for spring runoff by delivering sandbags to Public Works, the firehall and Fairview Mountain Golf Course. He noted that Public Works are monitoring creeks (Tin Horn, Wolf Cub and Testalinden) on a daily basis and are ready to respond as necessary.
The mayor said Okanagan Lake has hit the targeted low pool and is now increasing about one centimetre per day.
“There are no concerns for Skaha Lake, Vaseaux Lake or Osoyoos Lake at this time,” he stated.
Johansen encouraged people to visit the Towns’ COVID-19 website at https://oliver.ca/covid-19-corona-virus/ and follow the links to the Province of BC website for daily updates and additional information.
