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This is the time of year when
we have to be especially sensitive to bear aware issues. A report to
Council shows that people are still leaving their garbage out the night
before or not keeping it in a secure bear proof place. As well there are
a lot of properties in town that have unpicked or over ripened fruit
that is a major bear attractant. The bottom line is at this time of year
especially, we have bears in all areas of town with aggressive bears
noted in the CPR hill area and Southside area. You will be seeing a big
awareness campaign starting and if we all play a part it will keep bear
and human interactions to a minimum and will result in less bear
fatalities.
I attended the open house
for the Okanagan College residential construction trades training. This
is a joint effort involving Vic Van isle Const, Jake & Jay Holdings as
well as School District 19, Revelstoke Credit Union, BC Hydro and of
course Okanagan College. This program saw 10 students getting hands on
training in the trades by helping build a house. I am pleased to say the
City will be getting involved in this program next year by offering a
City owned lot on CPR hill that a house will be built on and after
completion the City will purchase. This project is very important for
several reasons. I don’t think I need to explain to everyone how
essential it is for us to have more housing available, but also finding
workers to build housing is also at a critical level. If you have any
friends or relatives in the building trades in other communities you
should suggest to them a relocation to Revelstoke might be a good career
move, or signing up for the upcoming trades training program may set you
on a rewarding new career. You can call the Okanagan College if you are
interested.
We are well into our City
wide Official Community Plan (OCP) review. This past Tuesday evening the
film “The Radiant City” was shown at the Roxy Theatre. We were also
fortunate to have as a guest speaker Trevor Boddy who is an architecture
critic for the Globe and Mail. The film was very insightful on how urban
sprawl can affect a community. We are fortunate to have information like
this coming to the community now at a critical time when the City is
dealing with the development, expansion, and growing needs of our City.
There are valuable lessons here that we should all keep in mind when
developments are coming before Council and the community for approval.
Mixed use density developments, sustainable communities, less vehicle
reliance, and more pedestrian friendly developments were just some of
the topics raised.
We are entering the next
phase of the OCP and we are looking for your input. As you read this,
there is a link on the City’s
website where you can fill out a questionnaire that will be taken into
consideration as we prepare the next draft of the OCP. Hard copies can
also be picked up and dropped off at City Hall.
Coming up on October 11th
at the Community Centre there will be an “Idling Reduction and Green
Fleets Workshop”. This session from 9am -1pm is for individuals,
businesses, and institutions on how they can save up to 20% on their
fuel bills, prolong vehicle life, spare Revelstoke air, and reduce
greenhouse gases. There is a registration deadline of September 28th and
a minimum number of participants is needed for this to go ahead. There
is no cost and refreshments and a lunch will be provided. To register go
online to
www.idlefreebc.ca/events.php#upcoming.
In closing please take a
minute and look around where you are right now to see how bear aware
your area is.
Thank you.
Mark McKee
Mayor
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