Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Concerns raised by Mike on Tubing / Boat Conflicts...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikki_seraph/ / CC BY 2.0

Over on my personal blog, where I have posted some stuff on tubing in Kamloops, got the following comment from Mike. Conflicts and concerns arise every summer but, with this heat wave, I guess we should all be extra careful to be responsible and courteous to others:

I am a Kamloops resident and taxpayer and have recently noticed a growing problem with the Valleyview public boat launch. I own a jet-ski and go boating with my family and have never been more frustrated with the constant growth of floaters using the boat launch and boat launch parking as their starting point to get on the river. Parking that is supposed to be used for boaters is now used by the "floaters" and they congest the launch area and park all along the way to the river, whether they are just listening to music, blowing up rafts, or waiting for friends, they are blocking the way for boaters to get on the river. Not only that, but the garbage and liquor bottles/cans are being thrown all over the boat launch area and I (among others) have been finding glass all the way down the concrete launch. This is not only a hazard to people; these pieces of glass can damage trailers and trucks that are hauling boats, jet skis, kayaks etc. On more than one occasion, I have seen floaters at the bottom of the boat launch sitting in the water, leaving no room whatsoever for boaters to launch their crafts in the water; this is very frustrating and makes for a poor start to anyone's day. On Sunday when we went to launch, a crew of floaters decided to launch their tubes and then hold onto a gentleman's boat who was trying to load it with his son. The man actually had to get angry in order to get the people to let go of his boat as the engine and boat was on and the prop was in motion. As many boaters that I have talked to, this seems to be the worst year yet. Something needs to be done about the floaters taking up parking at the Valleyview boat launch, as well as them using the boat launch as a personal tube launching area. I have noticed that bylaw is ticketing some cars that are at the boat launch, but they can only do that so much during the day/weekend. I think that if there is going to be this many tubers on the water they should have a parking lot designated just for floaters and make a separate launch for them. This will alleviate both danger for the floater and the people who own and want to launch their boats in the river. I have become a very frustrated user of the Valleyview boat launch and I'm sure that I am not the only one. Hopefully this letter will gain attention to a fast growing problem, to the point where something can be done to come to a conclusion for both parties.

Any Questions for Domtar?

With all the blogging I have been doing about Domtar, I am thinking I better post a summary 2-3 max paragraph for those who may want to be informed but find the stuff I've been posting a little too time consuming.

Domtar has been super about keeping me informed as they go through the process of applying for an extension to their air permit deadline. They have been mandated by the Provincial government to bring down their particulate emissions - known to have a detrimental effect on local air quality. Particulate emissions come from many other things - road dust and truck diesel engines, for example.

On Friday, I will be recording a podcast with Domtar's Western Canada public affair's representative, Bonnie Skene. Welcome any thoughts on what I should be asking her.

Video: Domtar Kamloops presentation to City Council, re: Air Permit Amendment

This is Domtar's presentation to Kamloops City Council asking for council support for Domtar's request to the Min of Environment to extend the deadline to complete the reductions of emissions from Kamloops pulp mill. (about five and a half minutes)

Here is my overview of the issue, written last week.

Questioning our Reflexive Bias Towards Growth....

Can our planet take anymore traditional type community plans?

How can our development community find opportunity in a world where City Hall is not always so keen to create as many new lots as possible?

New building has long been an important indicator of the health of our economy. Chief City Building Inspector Kundan Bubbar, who I respect immensely, was quoted a while ago in the Kamloops Daily News:

"We are still hoping commercial and multifamily will be strong this year....things are moving and we are hearing good news from the real estate board that there are more sales"

New development does bring in more taxes to the community, allowing us more amenities to enjoy.

But, as we soon begin the update of our official community plan (Kamplan) under the auspices of the Sustainable Kamloops project, we need to start thinking about growth in a holistic way, growth in an era of climate change.

When we build more houses on the periphery of town, we will undoubtedly increase the car trips in the city. Emissions grow, not reduce.

How do we grow smartly? 

Do we adopt a no growth policy?

How do we maintain a healthy building industry? Renovations? Building more multi story condos?

Do people want to live in a town with more traffic, less community? Does more population always bring these?

Lower Mainland Bloggers Blog 24 Hours for Charity...

A shoutout to Miss 604 for coordinating a whole bunch of Vancouver bloggers in thie 2009 charity blogathon!

Also, Langley Politics (Council member Jordan Bateman and Sam Kirk) are doing some great urban planning flavoured posting and raising money for the Fraser Valley United Way.

Podcast - Investment and Business Opportunities on the Kamloops North Shore

I was really pleased to have this opportunity to record with a gentleman for whom I have a great respect and fondness. Peter Mutrie has expertly led the work of the North Shore Business Improvement Association (NSBIA) for many years. I regard him as one of our top community leaders in Kamloops.

We spoke about the many activities of the NSBIA:

 

00:53 - what is the North Shore BIA
02:22  - mens clothing store wanted
02:37 -  other types of businesses wanting to
                attract - entertainment, restaurants, artistic businesses
03:13 - international flavour
03:50 - North Shore BIA events - banner festival, outdoor art gallery, art walk, makeovers
06:48 - North Shore ambience, artistic centre
07:40 - business makeovers, Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CEPTED)
11:35 - other aspects of the North Shore Business Opportunity
13:20  - catering to global investment
14:35  - most diverse neighbourhood in Kamloops
15:46 -  Kamloopsians taking charge of their own destiny, entrepreneurialism, tournament capital program
17:41  - the business case for tackling social issues, the root causes
21:06 - NSBIA social enterprise projects, relationship building
24:43 - the Power of Partnerships
26:17 - business is an exciting world, not working in silos
27:15 - NSBIA web site and email
  

A Video on Upcoming Plans on the Blog...

Kamloops Chamber of Commerce announces 2009 Business Excellence Award Nominees

Read in Kamloops This Week, that the Chamber has announced the list of nominees for 2009 Business Excellence Awards

Congratulations all!!

We need more entrepreneurs in Kamloops. People who make things happen and make their own jobs!

Tips on being Fire Smart....

If you are looking to get tips on "firesmarting" your home, you can obtain the FireSmart Manual from the Kamloops Fire Rescue web site or by calling Kamloops Fire Rescue at 250 372 5131. Here's a useful excerpt from page 4:

Do you have a cleared zone around your house
and buildings?
The first 10 metres of space around your home
is your “First Priority”. It’s the most critical area
to consider for fire protection. A good fuel free
space gives firefighters a chance to save your
home from an advancing fire. A home without a
good fuel free space around it can make firefighting
difficult, if not impossible.
What to do?
Remove any shrubs, trees, deadfall or woodpiles
from this area and keep your grass mowed and
watered.

Kamloops has also instituted a ban on outdoor burning of any type.

I called the very helpful Sheldon Guertin with Kamloops Fire Rescue and he was kind of enough to also share the following information. There has been an unfortunate string of suspicious fires in Kamloops, so please report any suspicious activities to the RCMP. Try to record as much information as you can. Describing the situation and the people involved as this helps the RCMP do their job better.

When traveling, please report people throwing cigarette butts out car windows, and make double sure that any and all campfires or cigarette butts are fully extinguished.

Our MP Cathy McLeod on Passports and Climate Change...

Sorry for the blurry picture over heads in the back of the room. Wanted to capture the rapt attention of members of the Rotary Club of Kamloops as our MP Cathy McLeod spoke to us today about federal issues and responsibilities. 

Cathy mainly covered federal government work to help get the economy moving. A couple of other things I found interesting:

 - A mobile passport office will be set up in Kamloops sometime in August. This will allow Kamloopsians to go through the whole passport process - from application and to obtaining the passport - right here in town.

- I asked a question on the Conservative government's strategy on climate change. Cathy said a lot of work is being done on this strategy by Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice, and there is a broad hope to align with the Obama administration strategy (some more info). I found this good news, although I still have major concerns that our government is not moving fast enough on the climate file.

Overall, Cathy seems a very likeable, down to earth person. I like her style.