By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
Osoyoos Council voted today to approve a three-year plan to allocate resort municipality grant money tagged to tourism for the next two years and cleaned up the issue of residual funds from the 2022-2024 cycle.
The Resort Development Strategy, presented to Council during the Tuesday regular meeting, addresses Osoyoos’ special designation as a “resort municipality”. This status unlocks over $425K in annual grant funding from the province, via the Resort Municipality Initiative. The latest RDS final draft covers the period from 2025 to 2027.
The conditions for the grant require the funds to be spent on no more than 30 per cent operational items, and at least 70 per cent capital items. All capital funding items must be related to tourism, and embracing the “resort municipality” status Osoyoos enjoys.
Two separate motions were made by Council. The first motion covered a funding allotment for projects during the 2025 to 2027 RDS, while the second motion reversed a previous defeat of allocating unspent money from the 2022-2024 RDS.
Following the 30-70 funding requirement, the RDS 2025-2027 proposal is constrained on the operational side of the equation to direct events support, and several waterfront-related housekeeping items. In addition to beach cleaning and waterfront safety, administration needs are counted in this category.
The capital portion of grant funding focuses on transportation items such as digital highway signage along Highways 3 and 97, and upgrades to the Wellness Trail and bike racks. A project to create a year-round public washroom along the Pioneer Walkway will also have its funding completed through this RDS cycle.
The public washroom project was partially funded during the 2022-2024 cycle of the RDS. The unused portion was misstated by the Town’s former Chief Financial Officer.
An updated list of approved projects carried over to the 2025-2027 period includes the public washroom, two new swim platforms, additional digital signage, and public art. An Environmental Sustainability project was dropped from the updated accounting. Unused RMI money from that cycle amounts to $610,000, and must be spent by 2027.
One item left out of both sections of funding is a fence for the Splash Park. That item, said Rod Risling, Chief Administrative Officer for the town, wasn’t initially identified as a need, and with funding already allocated, it wouldn’t be fair to have the Splash Park fence jump the queue now.
“One of the things that Administration thinks would maybe be prudent, is when the overall Parks Master Plan comes forward, it’s going to likely have a lot of opportunities, a lot of different ideas, and things that Council may want to consider,” Risling explained, as one of the additional reasons for not including Splash Park fence funding.
“It might be more prudent to take a look at all the various improvements that may be considered, and then weigh the fence at the Splash Park with all of the other opportunities out there.”
Councillor Zach Poturica pushed for the immediate approval of the 2025 to 2027 RDS proposal, so as not to leave the spending decisions to the last minute.
“I think it’s important that we are able to move on these, and move on these as fast as we can,” he said. “I know there’s been times in the past where we haven’t been able to spend the money up until the deadline at the end, and… the sooner we can move these projects forward, the better.”
Following unanimous approval of that motion, the second motion was addressed. It was deemed that, due to being defeated the last time it was brought forth, Poturica was unable to make the motion to revive it. Instead, Councillor Myers Bennett brought the motion forward.
Councillor Johnny Cheong was willing to second it, but advocated for the Splash Park fence to get top-of-the-list placement for future items to be funded.
“I’ve been to about seven birthday parties in that splash park, I’ve sprinted… about twenty times for children who are running up that hill, to that road,” Cheong said. “All the other projects are important, but at the same time, none of those projects have any risk of injury or lost life.”
Mayor Sue McKortoff initially voiced concern with trying to put one specific item ahead of the other.
“This is a bit of a confusing issue,” stressed McKortoff. “Every project, likely, is important.”
McKortoff agreed, though, to allow that amendment to be inserted into the motion for 2022-2024 projects. That motion, too, was carried unanimously.
The 2025-2027 RDS will now await provincial approval before taking effect. Since the deadline to sort out the 2022-2024 funds is in the past, and the Province has worked with Osoyoos on the allocation plan, that plan is currently in effect.
