Unabashed Un-bashing

Sorry, Morning Star newspaper.
You did feature new Coldstream councillor candidate, Shane Hillman, wayyyyy early in the campaign, back on September 7th, 2014 (posted October 14th, 2014).
I missed it.

The blog bashed the newspaper October 16th for neglecting a Hillman bio, "November Elections Mark End of Silly Season".

So here's a verbatim cut-n-paste of the Morning Star article, written and photographed by Jennifer Smith.

"Hockey and politics may be completely different leagues, but a local player/referee/coach is hoping to move off the sidelines in his community and score a seat on council.

Shane Hillman is putting his name forward for Coldstream councillor in the November election.

Along with providing a fresh set of eyes to various issues, Hillman says his on-ice experience makes him a good fit for the job.
“As a referee there’s two things you learn very quickly. One: You have to have thick skin. Two: You’re never going to be able to please everybody.”

Shane Hillman (J.Smith photo, Morning Star)

The 32-year-old is a stay-at-home dad to his five-year-old daughter, but with kindergarten about to start soon Hillman will have the time necessary to dedicate to the position.

If elected, Hillman plans to look at every subject objectively, taking everyone into consideration.

“I’m the type of person that’s going to look at an issue and I’m going to understand both sides of it. I’m not going to go into it with a pre-conceived notion.”

He is eager to preserve Coldstream’s motto: rural living at its best. Using the pellet plant as one example, Hillman says it looks as though it will proceed, but that doesn’t mean efforts have to stop for a healthy industry.

“We need to find a way to make sure the health and environment in our community is our top priority.”

Hillman is happy with the current council, but is hoping to add a different face to the mix.

“I do think that after six years with the same council, it’s time for at least a new view or a fresh look at the issues.”

Hillman was born and raised in Vancouver but spent many summers in the Okanagan and moved to Coldstream in 2006 with his wife."

"Welcome to Coldstream, Shane, we need a referee," suggests Kia, "between residents and our 'pragmatic socialist' mayor."

Good that Shane's not an acreage owner...he'd hightail it back to the Coast once he discovered RU10/RU30 and its effect on people here.

A tip o' the hat to Shane for allowing his name to stand.
He's done what numerous other folks refused to do.

Amalgamation as Reward?

I liken the threat/promise of amalgamation to Punishment.
Punishing local governments and their bevy of bureaucrats for the governance mess of the North Okanagan.

But this fellow's letter to the editor on December 29th, 2013, takes a decidedly different view.

"...My feeling is that when the City of Vernon can show a significant track record of above-average decision-making and governance that doesn't appear to be patched together for political expediency but for the good of the community, then that is the time to talk about amalgamation."

Simo Korpisto

Huh?

If--and that's a big IF--there were "above-average decision-making and governance", amalgamation wouldn't even enter residents' minds.

Because things would be running well, with surpluses versus deficits, with correctly-placed priorities versus big-city-wannabe wishlists, with true cooperation among communities versus circling their wagons, with long-term doable plans versus wishy-washy stabs at trying to please every half-baked request that arrives in council mailboxes.

There'd be no need to amalgamate.

"How many lanes do there have to be?  How many shoulders?  Does there have to be a bike path?"

 Consultant M. Trickey

Examples abound, but most recently yet another consultant's report to Vernon Council, quoted in the paper thusly:  "How many lanes do there have to be?  How many shoulders?  Does there have to be a bike path?" 

Oh for heaven's sake!
That comment AFTER construction of myriad bike paths (and plans for more) in both Vernon and Coldstream, all of which cost big taxpayer dollars.
For what?
For a few bicyclists in summer?
For no bicyclists at all during six months of winter?

I'm reminded of my childhood in Vancouver, a Zone 8 gardening city where one could ride a bicycle for 12 months each year.

My family resided a few blocks off one of the busiest thoroughfares in Vancouver--Kingsway--five miles west of Gladstone Secondary School.  I rode my bike to and from school during those years, no bike paths, no school buses to ferry students to and fro.  There wasn't even a law requiring helmets for bicyclists.  Not always the "good ole' days", but those were days when common sense was, well, more common than today.  When logic rose to the top like heavy cream.

Parents--not a provincial government--set strict rules in those days:  always ride facing traffic, motorized vehicles had the right-of-way.  Only a moron would have believed bicyclists should have the right of way.  And we were respectful of bigger, heavier, motorized cars and trucks and buses simply because we knew it took considerable time for a big, heavy, motorcar or truck or bus to stop if we did something stupid while riding a bike.
Enough about bikes.

Ask any of the Coldstream Acreage Owners' Association members...is it not as punishment that we wish to impose amalgamation on Coldstream?  Punishment for their plan to rezone East Coldstream acreages to RU10/RU30?
Amalgamation is the punishment Coldstream's Mayor and Council deserve for that plan.
And once amalgamation has occurred--as we fervently hope it does--we will not allow the new government to even whisper to impose that rezoning on our acreages.

So yes, amalgamation is punishment for government screw-ups.
Screw up and we will terminate your local government...how's that for your council's legacy?
Certainly not a reward.

While rare, politicians do have their lucid moments.
Vernon Mayor Sawatzky--when considering what to do to bolster Vernon's flagging economy--said he wasn't convinced Vernon is destined to become the centre of large manufacturers.
Hallelujah.
But he still employs an Economic Development officer.

Economically, Vernon simply can't compete with Kelowna, 40 kilometres to the south.
Kelowna offers--first of all, a larger valley--more space for residential and industrial operations seeking to locate or expand.  Less red tape and lower taxes, it's said.  And despite similar weather, why do people and manufacturers choose Kelowna?  In no particular order, an international airport, one hour less driving time to Vancouver, less bureaucratic red tape and fewer delays in getting that red tape sorted out.

Admit it.
The Vernon area is a bedroom community to Kelowna.
Vernon is terrible for business, but good for those residents seeking a lifestyle devoid of mile-long traffic.

But don't kid yourself...Vernon needs Kelowna to continue to be a thriving community.

"Vernon's got a lot," offers Kia, "most notably bureaucracy."

Punishment or Reward--whichever way you see it--amalgamation is necessary in a town that can't grow dollars.

Buying into Controversy

Coldstream Mayor Garlick and Council went shopping next door to the muni hall.
And bought the place.

Timing appears unimportant when they're spending taxpayers' money.
A prudent purchaser--using his own funds or borrowing from a bank--would purchase a property prior to it being rezoned as Commercial.
Not this bunch.

The place is the Coldstream Women's Institute Hall at 9909 Kalamalka Lake Road, just steps away from the Coldstream Municipal Hall.


View Larger Map

Rumors surfaced this year that the place wasn't as inclusive in their membership as they could have been.  Rumblings that somebody's membership application wasn't approved by the executive.


Chiefly a rental hall for meetings and private events, the Women's Institute Hall is also the venue for the weekly Farmer's Market in Coldstream.  Councillor Maria Besso frequently champions the market, and the orcharding family of Coldstream councillor Richard Enns are vendors at the event that continues well into Fall.

The Morning Star newspaper did a nice historical piece on the Institute's 81st anniversary in 2012 here.

A benefactor of the District of Coldstream's permissive tax exemption bylaw (1605, 2013), the Coldstream Women's Institute pays no annual tax on land and improvements as they are a not-for-profit registered society.

"The property wasn't listed as being for sale on the market," states a realtor who wishes to remain anonymous. We both wondered if the municipality paid too much as the building is old and needs work.
The realtor continues "the assessment for the Hall was considerably lower before the property was automatically included--by this administration--in the plan for Coldstream's Town Centre rezoning."

A lot lower.
No matter...they'll just do some short-term financing through the province's finance authority (short-term financing doesn't require voter assent), and/or plunder the DCC kitty.

So now, after the rezoning has been approved by Council, Mayor Garlick and Council paid $310,00 for the Hall (plus another $10,000 for conveyancing costs).

"Maybe Council will make membership more inclusive," offers Kia, adding "since at least one or two councillors are members."

Personally, I don't care about a membership issue.
That's for the executive to decide.
I'm concerned at what the renovation costs will be.
Because Coldstream residents will pay for that too.

"Council won't like being stewards of a hall that holds events with Special Occasion liquor licenses," grins Kia.

No worries...Councillors Enns and Besso will stand guard.
Or maybe Councillor Dirk, with his paranoia concerning all things liquor related.

...Wonder who'll now constitute the Executive for the Women's Institute Hall.

One controversy traded for another?

Just Ask Retailers

They know the North Okanagan's economy.
They feel it every day when totalling cash register receipts.

And the public sees it too, with the plethora of For Lease, For Sale and For Rent signs in the area's commercial and industrial areas, and the burgeoning "inventory", as realtors call it, on the market.

The Chamber of Commerce manager, George Duffy, hears it from his membership.

And youth know it too, as they struggle to find "meaningful employment" as one 19 year old put it last year.
"I can't even afford gas for my car if I'm flippin' burgers for $10 an hour," he says.  So he left Greater Vernon and moved north "where the money is, because there are no employers here." 

But Vernon's Economic Development Manager, Kevin Poole, is splitting hairs with his opposition to the report.  He doesn't have the answers either.

The Conference Board of Canada's just-released report indicates that Vernon's total gross domestic product (GDP) has--in 7 years--dropped from $2.1 million to $1.5 million.   If GDP statistics make your eyes glaze over, then this will hit home:  the report indicated that Vernon's jobs dropped from 31,300 to 19,000 in that same 7 years.

That's 12,300 fewer jobs in seven years!
Whether it's in Vernon alone, or in areas that include Spallumcheen and Lumby (higher manufacturing), the City of Vernon is frantic to attract new employers. 

Mayor Sawatzky was reported in the Morning Star as saying, "We can't give tax holidays as they can in the U.S., which caused municipal bankruptcies."  Businesses are well aware there are no tax holidays.

Yet with all this information--most of which has been obvious to most people throughout these seven years--the District of Coldstream still wants a Town Center.  (reminder: find an incredulity icon???!!!)

Coldstream's OCP Never Gathers Dust

It's always open, yet officials say the last review was 7 years ago.
They're always reviewing it (checking for rules requirements/infractions).

Seven years is as though it were yesterday to residents who are constantly bombarded by stories of what Council is contemplating and doing.  As in perhaps a roundabout on Kal Lake Road (loud groans), or maybe traffic lights (groan, groan).  Many people I've spoken with simply groan, "plus a provincial election".

Written 20 years ago, Coldstream's Official Community Plan is being opened up (again for public input) at a time when the public remains distracted by a poor economy, lack of new employers and the jobs they would bring, not to mention their own family's focus on increasing property taxes, water rates, and hydro/gas rates.

Add up all the Variances (to the rules) that people apply for, you'd be correct in thinking nobody ever puts the Official Community Plan for Coldstream back on the shelf.  It's always open.

Several open houses are planned for the public to provide input:
May 6th Coldstream Women's Institute 3-5 p.m., reconvening at 6:30-8:30 p.m.
May 8th Lavington Fire Hall, 3-5 p.m., and 6:30-8:30 p.m.

The Mayor states "We're looking at densities, agricultural lands and the uses that occur on them."
Several Coldstream Acreage Owner Association members quickly quipped "they'd better leave last year's RU10/RU30 plan buried, or we'll have to jump all over 'em again."

Other topics that Coldstream Council's review will consider in the Official Community Plan are listed below--followed by responses from Kia and our group:

* residential housing demands (single family, multi-family, retirement).  Leave this to the private sector, as they know what they're doing, and whether it's viable.

* future community growth areas.  Gawd, here we go again.  After this same council has vehemently vetoed "mile long subdivisions", etc. etc.  Unless the good Lord has granted Coldstream some new land, nothing has changed from the last time they studied it.

* residential/rural land-use interface planning.  The Agricultural Land Commission has created details on a buffer zone for such an interface, so that's what will be applied.  No point in reinventing the wheel unless you're Councillor Richard Enns, who is concerned riding arenas--if setback is reduced to 30 metres--will create a lot of dust.  Jeezzuzz!  Buy 'em a sprinkler.

*agricultural land use planning and farming viability.  Yeah, sure, a bunch of bureaucrats and councillors (most of whom are decidedly left-of-center) are going to find the magic formula for farm viability.
As indicated during last year's RU10/RU30 debacle--this Council doesn't have a clue about farming the East Coldstream valley--yes, it's suitable chiefly for forage crops.  Even apples (and certainly stone-fruit crops) don't work in the valley bottom where frost settles late winter/early spring from cold outflow winds from the Monashees. 

* hillsides' long-term land-use planning.  Reiterate Maria Besso's comment from last year: "We don't want mile long subdivisions".  And presto, you won't get them...or their tax dollars. 

* commercial neighbourhood centres.  Ah...my favourite thing to hate.  What merchant in his right mind is going to fly in the face of demographics--and revenue--and build a shop in Coldstream's proposed Town Centre?  Not many.  Not when every fifth retail space in Vernon has For Lease on the window.  Oh, they'll get the odd dentist or chiropractor...

*industrial land availability.  It was the Mayor who stated a year or two ago--after he had been asked if the former Consumers Glass Plant might be subdivided into smaller industrial parcels--that he preferred it to remain in one piece.  Seems a film might be produced there.  (Sigh).  

*municipal parks and trails strategy.  Needed for people who don't have acreage.

*sensitive ecosystems policy strategy.  These rules will continue to arise in Victoria (where they should originate).  Our Mayor should be focusing on a sensitive taxpayer's system policy.

*hazardous lands identification.  TerraSoft, Google Earth and Google Maps = done!  Like dinner!
Haven't seen any new Coldstream lands created recently, but the mountain opposite does look a bit taller.

*infrastructure planning (transportation, utilities, services).  Even local MLA Eric Foster recently admitted that a community "can't do water separation/twinning alone", taxpayers don't want to ask for more services because of the cost.

*interjurisdictional land-use planning.   Coldstream Council is a signatory to the Regional Growth Management Strategy, so they're bound by that, not by what we want to see.  Plus we've stopped telling them what we want.

"Maybe we should tell DoC that many Japanese companies have 300 year plans," offers Kia, "and they stick to them."

How Coldstream Went Bust

...could be the headline in a few years.

This Knowledge Network special (Tuesday, January 15, 2013 Bell Expressvu Satellite) should be required watching for all bureaucrats and elected officials.

You'd think local governments would be antsy about acquiring any new debt.
Nope. 
Not Coldstream, not Vernon.

Coldstream's Mayor Garlick and Council must feel they're above it all, as they've never had to spend money (from "uncollectible" property taxes, as provided for in this example from Kelowna, or this Yellowknife bylaw) which, in effect, is the budget equivalent to bailing out a corporation or individual.

There's hardly anyone left in Coldstream to "bail out";  Consumers Glass is gone.  Tolko has asked for property tax concessions in the communities where they operate, Coldstream's mayor has decided he doesn't like the idea of the former Consumers Glass property being divided into smaller pieces, just in case Hollywood needs a film set (*groan*)...so there the complex will sit, a roost for pigeons.

This from the mayor whose administration spent $16,000 to landscape a couple of traffic islands at Kal General Store!!  Sixteen thousand dollars!  To landscape a couple of 30-foot islands!

We don't have the Big Three auto manufacturers here, the Feds bailed them out in Ontario.

And our banks are safer than those in the U.S., if you believe the pundits.

Yet the Letters to the Editor continue, likely falling on elected officials' blind eyes.

This one is from Garry Haas, published by the Morning Star on January 2nd, 2013:

"Well, the mayor and council are trying to sell us this budget from his financial manager as holding the line and the best they can do.  How naive do they really think us, the taxpayers -- the people who voted you into office -- are?

To start with, the online version is 527 pages (no wonder the photocopiers are getting old).  Let's get rid of the glossy pictures and all of the pie charts and condense the paperwork.

If you published this thing for people to read, you are going to break the bank for publishing it.

The plan states that the raise rate is 1.9 per cent.  Does this include:

The hospital is asking for an increase of 13.9 for in(sic) indeterminate number of years, amounting to they say $10 per household, but this is based on last years assessments.

In order to fund future infrastructure upgrades, (administrator Will Pearce) is recommending council raise taxes at least 1.9 per cent a year, for the next 10 years in order to build up a pool of funds.

Administration also recommends council initiate a dedicated 1.9 per cent tax rate increase, to be cumulative for 10 years (that is 1.9 per cent dedicated tax rate increases each year for the 10 years proposed) in order to build the financial capacity of the city to deal with looming infrastructure issues.

Plus, the automatic wage and benefit increases for all union employees.  Do you have the nerve to put this number out for everyone to see?

There was $570,000 to demolish the old Coldstream hotel site.  He came to his senses and stopped it.  Add the sports complex that he is hoping to have built.

To do this they are suggesting:
Raise some of the rates at the pool.  This is the only place some people and the elderly can go and get exercise at a reasonable rate.
Raise the parking meter rates, the fines that go along with this and the weekly and monthly lot rates.  Well you might as well ring the death toll for downtown because nobody will want to go down (there) and shop or eat because of the extra cost.  Those that work in the downtown area will not be able to afford the high cost of parking.

Why do just about all the departments have a food and coffee account?  Are we supplying all employees with coffee and snacks?  Most of these are new in this budget.

Suggest reducing road sweeping, then why do you have a request for a new sweeper in this budget?

Now is the time to e-mail, write or call the mayor, council members and the regional district directors and let them know that we do not want increases in our taxes.  We want to get our debts paid off before we go bankrupt as is happening in other counties(sic), even Canada."
Garry Haas

In the same isssue of the local paper, a Chuck Johnson wrote a Letter to the Editor, entitled "Labour Under Attack".  Obviously pro-labour, Mr. Johnson suggests instead of placing the blame for all things financial on high union wages, that it's "time to register churches and put all of their financial information on the website so we can see how they are spending money...next...go after law societies, medical associations and then accounting organizations....with all their tax-free information...we will all breathe a lot better."  

Mr. Johnson concludes:  "...if you really want transparency, go after the big guy.  Now is the time to go after the big guy, the one percent who really do make government policy in their back rooms and present it to you through lobbying groups.  Through the loop holes in the tax act, they get away with billions that could put our country on stable financial ground.  Share the wealth.

The 100 highest paid chief executives whose companies are listed on the S&P/TSX composite index made an average of $8.38 million in 2010.  This is 289 times more than the average Canadian makes in a year.  In 1998, the top 100 CEOs were paid 105 times the average wage.

The playing field is definitely tilted in the favour of the wealthy.  We are hungry and have no one except unions to speak to the disparity of wages.  The playing field that is tilted to the wealthiest.  Why is it you and your government want to destroy the working man and their voice in the unions...?"

A subsequent newspaper issue had this headline emblazoned across the front page:

"Referendum costs cut by $1 million."

"So maybe they're listening," offers Kia.
 The borrowing by local governments will continue.
 Because they believe their own propaganda about "broad powers".
Local governments think they're immune.

Because they just don't get it!

Living on the Edge in Coldstream

...a hazardous place when it comes to fire boundaries.

Why?  Because neighbour helping neighbour belongs to a bygone age.
And it's being condoned by your elected officials if bureaucrats get their way.

As part of the ongoing--and never ending--editing of the District of Coldstream's Policy Manual under the guise of streamlining its principles and practices, Chief Administrative Officer Michael Stamhuis recommends the following policy to our elected officials:

"The District of Coldstream will not respond to any fire calls beyond the District of Coldstream's Fire Protection Boundary unless a mutual-aid agreement is in place."

Draft of Policy #FD08, To designate the response area for the Fire Department

Whether or not a mutual-aid agreement is in place won't be important as your--or your neighbour's--structure burns.  

And response delays caused by Fire Chiefs fumbling through streetmaps, or Google Streetview--all the while scanners and pagers crackling with alarm--doesn't bode well for public safety.

It's just a matter of knowing where you live, and the North Okanagan Regional District's Fire Boundary map may be a good place to start looking.

When it comes down to the potential risk to life and property posed by a fire--any fire--it would be reassuring to know that two fire halls respond--versus none--if your residence happens to be on the perimeter of two (or even three) fire jurisdictions, especially in the maze of boundaries found in the North Okanagan.

Ask any long-serving volunteer fire fighter and they'll shake their head in disbelief at the apparent need for a mutual-aid agreement (draft here), adding "They're our neighbours!  We respond to alarm and smoke;  to hell with a bureaucrat's paper boundaries". 

Bureaucrats justify their existence with paperwork.

"...in the District of Stamhuis," adds Kia.

Remember:  Primum non nocere?  First, do no harm!

"Bio-Solids" on Coldstream Ranch

To be blunt, I didn't care.
At first, anyway.

The Coldstream Ranch has certainly had more than its share of interference, I felt.
Especially with Coldstream Council's excessive and continual demands concerning the public charge of over-mining its Rosebush Gravel Pit, demands that--despite the provincial Right to Farm Act--placed huge reporting burdens and the monumental expense of having to retain an environmental consultant, Summit Environmental, for regular reporting to both the municipality and the Agricultural Land Commission.  Neighbours had complained about dust from the gravel pit for years, even a neighbour two doors west of my residence--who was certainly NEVER in the dust's path because my residence didn't receive the dust, and my residence was closer to the gravel pit than his! But I digress...

I was not going to be one of the numerous Buchanan Road residents who placed more obstacles in the ranch's operational path. 

While that may be a symptom of the insiduous societal disease known as "I'm all right, Jack"--and perhaps that's true to a point--there were two factors that piqued my interest late last winter when tanker trucks began rumbling past my residence, several times a day, as they would all summer long.

One factor was the widely-reported declining health of Coldstream Creek as it meanders westward from Noble Canyon in Lavington through Coldstream to spill into Kalamalka Lake, the drinking water supply for most of the City of Vernon.  Water quality studies are now conducted regularly since the 1977 reports, with considerable pollution reported:  "Mike Sokal, an impact assessment biologist with the Ministry of Environment, stated that there were several times during 2010/11 when nitrate levels exceeded guidelines, as did levels for the e.coli bacteria.  “There is a chronic issue throughout the year,” he said...Something really should be done about that,” as reported in a Morning Star story June 15th, 2011.

The second factor didn't come into play until I was visiting a Buchanan Road friend last winter who lives not far from where the tanker truck's contents were being spread.
As she and I exercised the dogs and enjoyed the late winter sun's warmth--steaming coffee mugs gripped in gloved hands--a tractor-drawn boom sprayer chugged along the field opposite Buchanan Road, spraying what can only be described as liquid tar.

It was, in fact, so black in colour that it looked thick, and we wondered aloud how it could be emitted as a liquid from the boom sprayer's nozzles.

Within moments of the tractor plying its way along the still-frozen field, the smell hit us.
Literally hit us.
A smell so foul we both immediately spun around, turning our backs to the field, as though the move had been choreographed. 

It was immediately reminiscent of what all Vernon residents will recall...that of years ago driving past Vernon's sewage treatment plant on 25th Avenue, whose open-to-air tanks had drivers gagging and rolling windows up.  The unlucky ones didn't make it through the intersection before the light changed and had to endure the smell waiting for the light to return to green, all the while pitying the residents whose nearby homes ensured their constant exposure.

It wasn't the smell of cow poop on that field...it was the smell of people poop!

Stunned, we looked back at the field, whose previously thin cover of late winter snow was now covered in a black shiny goo.
Yes it was shiny.
Yes it was goo.

We both recalled the previous January's rare rain-on-frozen-ground event which led to severe flooding in East Coldstream valley and the contamination of drinking water supplies at Antwerp Springs.  "What if it rains hard again," we wondered aloud, "all that stuff is going to head downhill into the creek and, ultimately, Vernon's drinking water supply."

My friend said "there's a sign about the spraying on the fence".

The sign, tacked to a fence where the snow had yet to be covered with the goo:

Sun-Rype in Kelowna, 35 miles south?

Wastewater treatment plant?

That brings the story up to the present, roughly 8 months after our late winter dog exercise day.
   
Today a District of Coldstream letter was received.  Council had directed the letter to residents on Buchanan Road "located 200 metres on either side of the field on Coldstream Ranch where the biosolids were spread."

Here then, verbatim, is the report to Council from Bob Bibby, Building Official, dated October 22, 2012:

"SUBJECT:  Spreading of Siosolids on Coldstream Ranch
1.  Purpose:  to provide information to Council regarding the spreading of biosolids on Coldstream Ranch property.
2:  Origin:  At the April 23, 2012 regular meeting, Council passed the following resolution:
Request for Information from Coldstream Ranch:
THAT staff be directed to contact Coldstream Ranch and inquire as to composition of the biosolids being spread on Ranch fields;
AND THAT  staff be directed to prepare a report for Council's information regarding the regulations for the spreading of biosolids on agricultural land.
3.  Background/Discussion
At the May 14, 2012 regular meeting, Council passed the following resolution:
Coldstream Ranch Spreading of Biosolids
. Report from the Building Official dated May 4, 2012
Moved by Besso, seconded by Kiss,
THAT staff be directed to invite representatives from Sun-Rype Products Ltd. and the Interior Health Authority to a future meeting of Council to provide information regarding the spreading of biosolids products on Coldstream Ranch property. 
Before the question was called it was:
Moved by McClean, seconded by Cochrane, 
THAT staff be directed to contact Sun-Rype Products Ltd. via the telephone number provided on the signage located at Coldstream Ranch and request, on behalf of Council, information regarding the spreading of biosolids on Coldstream Ranch property.

At Council's request, I have been in contact with Sun-Rype, who directed me to Rob Kupchanko, P.Ag Senior Environmentalist of Summit Environmental Consultants Inc.

Summit Environmental Consultants has been hired by Sun-Rype to attain a permit from the Ministry of Environment (MoE) to discharge Brant's(sic) Creek Trade Waste Treatment Plant (BCTTP) Biosolids and Sun-Rype's Plant Waste Juice on the Coldstream Ranch."   (Ed. note:  Kelowna's drinking water source protection report is here, and a photo from 2009 of the waste treatment facility is here). 

"He (Kupchanko) has been hired by Sun-Rype to attain a Land Application Plan (LAP prepared in accordance with, and fulfillling the requirements of the Organic Matter Recycling Regulation (OMRR).  Summit provides project management, field and technical support throughout the duration of the plan, which is designed to be implemented between 2012 and 2014.

I asked Rob to explain why wording on the mandatory signage was so restrictive stating:
   ' livestock must not be grazed on the site or 60 days after sludge application' and 'food for human consumption cannot be produced for 18 months on the site if harvested parts are above ground and for 38 months if harvested parts are below ground'.

The following is Rob's email response:
  "Sludge and Waste Juice Characteristics (Summit, 2012): 
The sludge is generated following treatment of the waste stream from the Sun-Rype and Andrew Peller facilities in the BCTTP.  The waste stream consists of wash water and other liquid wastes generated on site from the processing of organic materials at Sun-Rype and Andrew Peller (primarily fruit and vegetables but may also include grains and other organic materials).  The waste stream does not include domestic sewage (emphasis theirs) which enters the City of Kelowna's sewer system directly.  The second waste stream, waste juice, is the result of carton breakage or spoilage at the Sun-Rype plant.  This residual is stored on-site and removed for land application periodically.
The slude and waste juice are mainly organic in nature (emphasis theirs).  The sludge meets OMRR Class B fecal coliform standards and Class A trace element standards.  The waste juice meets OMRR Class A standards for pathogens and trace elements.

"The observed high fecal load was found in one of seven samples, which came from the treatment Plant and not from sewage."  Kupchanko, Summit Env.

  Signage:
Fecal coliforms are the main distinguishing factor with respect to signage requirements under OMRR.  I spok with Mike Reiner about this and he advises against changing of the wording.  According to MoE, OMRR as a precaution assumes all sludge's(sic) with a high fecal load are the result of contamination with human wastes, which means that this material is to be handled more restrictively than manure hence the signage.  The observed high fecal load was found in one of seven samples, which came from the treatment Plant and not from sewage. (emphasis blog author) Unfortunately these anomaly exceedences happen from time to time, and the term 'Biosolids' becomes misinterpreted, despite unrelated and low risk wastes like Sun-Rype's fruit processing waste from their treatment plant."
4.  Conclusion:
In summary the ranch has met all provincial regulations and the fruit processing waste from Sun Rype is of low risk to the environment.
5.  Recommendation:
THAT the report "Spreading of Biosolids on Coldstream Ranch" be received for information.
Respectfully submitted by:  Bob Bibby, AScT, C.R.B.O.  Building Official"

"Turns out the sludge was 'Vintage 1959'," offers Kia, "a fermented liquid made up of juice, wine and grains, which is all the sign really had to say."

Still wondering how a high fecal count can come from a treatment plant, yet not from sewage.

Will leave that to be mulled over by others.

"Looks like Mr. Floatie can stay in Victoria," concludes Kia, "but who will end up paying for the massive damage to Buchanan Road?"

Who indeed! 

Just Ban It

It's simple...just ban trucks from Buchanan and adjacent roads.

                   Signs went up on Buchanan and adjacent roads end of November 2012            

The District of Coldstream has found the easy way to make rural roads last longer.

Never mind that the Coldstream Ranch needs to haul silage from its numerous fields that abut Buchanan Road...nah, they won't mind being barred from the road THEY THEMSELVES built.

Heaven forbid our Council would actually look into what caused the monumental deterioration of Buchanan Road this year...a chip sealed rural road...(albeit this pic is from Nova Scotia *grin*)

• Could it have been this (similar) truck (minus the Arabic script) hauling twice-daily from February (yes...February) through October the biosolids from BC Tree Fruits from Kelowna to the Coldstream Ranch fields on Buchanan Road?

•  Or how about this (exact) truck also from Kelowna plying the lengths of Buchanan Road--also twice-daily--all summer long?

• Or how about this (similar) outrigger-equipped truck that replaced numerous Hydro poles over the summer months?

• Or how about that legal axle loads are NEVER restricted (let alone posted) on Buchanan Road during spring's freeze-thaw periods?

Then add the fact that any fatality along the adjacent 5-mile stretch of Highway 6 has always led to a detour of all traffic onto Buchanan Road for the duration of the accident re-enactment/investigation ... and you'll quickly see what Coldstream's administration doesn't understand:  a truck ban can't work.

Yup...a ban is what Coldstream plans as a solution to this year's deterioration of Buchanan Road.

"Thank goodness Coldstream doesn't have a population problem," quips Kia.

Will Hansma Deserves Kudos

The municipality of Spallumcheen's former mayor, Will Hansma, has announced that he'll let his name stand for the provincial Liberal nomination in Shuswap.

But that's not why he deserves kudos.

One of the largest municipalities in British Columbia, last year's Census gives the population of Spallumcheen as 5,055 (approximately half of Coldstream's.)

So you'd expect Spallumcheen to have approximately half of Coldstream's debt load.

Not so.

Spallumcheen has NO debt, compared to Coldstream's approx. $3 million (and growing) debt.

"I'm very proud of that," said Hansma in the local paper on November 14th.

So is Coldstream concerned about their debt?
More correctly, their taxpayers' debt?
Nope.

According to Councillor Kiss, there's room for more debt.
Six times more.

So...just a warning to Will Hansma as he pursues the nomination where the provincial Ministry of Finance allows that much debt...you wouldn't fit in.

"And be happy about that, Mr. Hansma," offers Kia.

DoC Control Freaks

No lack of fodder from Coldstream's Mayor and Council.

Seems it's the Coldstream Ranch's turn...again.

This from the Agenda for the November 13, 2012 council meeting:

"THAT staff be directed to send a letter to Coldstream Ranch, advising that

parking of transport trucks on the property at the southeast corner of the

Kalamalka Road and Highway 6 intersection, legally described as Lot A,

Plan 29697, is not a permitted use in the Rural Two (RU.2) Zone and that the

appropriate process to legitimize such use is through the Ranch making

application for a temporary use permit."

"...is not a permitted use in the Rural Two Zone"?

Huh?

Let's do a little quiz here...

How does Coldstream's Mayor and Council think the Coldstream Ranch has moved their cattle to market in the past?

The past being referred to is the time before the list of permitted uses in Rural Two.
Indeed, the past refers to the time before zoning designations.


These control freaks, formally known as the District of Coldstream's elected officials, have forgotten the Coldstream Ranch also predates the District!

"The Ranch should revert to moving their cattle west along the meandering cattle-trail called Highway 6," suggests Kia.

A temporary use permit!
How moronic!
 
Anything to keep paperwork moving back and forth on bureaucrats' desks, eh?