Kelowna new downtown

[Ken7]

But what if K96.3 won the bid? Doesn't Walter Gray own that station...or at least owned it until Dallas Gray took over...can you say conflict???

Put it into some By-law that there is only a one month term on lease and all have equal opportunity to utilize the system.

Why do people seem to jump to kick dirt at someone, in this case Grey. Who gives a CHIT is he once listened to K96.3 or worked there?????

It could be a cash generator for the City to help off set costs.

[sparky7691]

Put it into some By-law that there is only a one month term on lease and all have equal opportunity to utilize the system.

Why do people seem to jump to kick dirt at someone, in this case Grey. Who gives a CHIT is he once listened to K96.3 or worked there?????

It could be a cash generator for the City to help off set costs.

lmaooooo...I'm a personal friend of Walter. We've known each other for 40+ years. I guess my sarcasm in that post was lost on you.

[grammafreddy]

Am not so sure the land owners/merchants were all on board for the very expensive "decorations", though, or the loss of parking spots. Those big debt numbers are going to hit quite a few of them pretty hard in their pocketbooks. Some who were just barely hanging on before may not make it now.

What am I missing? Was the cost NOT out of the City budget. That means ALL Kelowna taxpayers shared in the cost of the upgrades, not just the neighbouring businesses.

Why will those "big debt numbers" hit the Bernard businesses? They are not solely responsible for the revitalization costs...

I could be wrong...and if I'm wrong, I'm sure grammaknowitall will tell me...

You would have been better educated if you had spent the time you used insulting me doing some research so you could look a tad more intelligent. Calling me nasty names makes you look childish, too.

Why are property owners being asked to
help pay for the construction?
The streetscape improvements would
result in more revenues to the businesses along
the street and are therefore
considered a benefit to the property
owners. Moreover, it’s the City’s policy
that property owners pay the full charge
for any streetscape improvements.
However, the City acknowledges that
Bernard Avenue is a major street within
the community, and is therefore willing
to fund most of the cost. This approach
was used when the South Pandosy
streetscape was done in 1997. At that
time property owners in the area agreed
to pay 25% of the streetscape costs.
How much would the new street cost the
property owners?
The anticipated cost is $770 – $1090 per
lineal metre of street frontage. This is a
cost estimate prepared by the consultant.
It assumes a range of materials, hardware,
and finishes. More information can be
viewed at Kelowna.ca/cityprojects under
Workshop #4. The cost to be charged to
each property owner is being finalized
and will be included in the petition.
How would the rest of the project be
paid for?
The rest of the project would be paid for
from taxation revenues and utility fees.
How can payments be made?
A lump-sum payment can be made to
the City once construction is completed.
Alternatively, the City can finance the
property owner’s charge over 20 years.
The repayment charge would include
interest and be added to the property owner’s
annual tax levy.
Why does there have to be a petition?
Provincial legislation requires a petition
whenever property owners are being
requested by the municipality to pay for
some, or all of the costs of an infrastructure
upgrade.
When will the petition be circulated?
It’s expected the petition will be sent to
the property owners in July, 2011.
How does the petition work?
The City will circulate the petition to each
of the property owners along Bernard
Avenue. Information on the design,
estimated costs, and time frame for the
project will be included.
The petition is based on a question
regarding the property owner’s willingness
to participate in the cost of the project.
At least 50% of the owners representing
at least 50% of the total assessed value
of the properties along the street would
be needed to pass the petition. Property
owners will have four weeks to respond.
What happens if the property owners
vote against a financial contribution to
the streetscape?
The utility work has to be done regardless.
So one option would to do the utility work
and repair the road as necessary, but leave
everything else as is. City Council could
also choose to do whatever streetscape
work is possible without a property owner
contribution. This would result in a lower
level of outdoor space for businesses and
the public.
What are the next steps?
The next step will be a presentation to
City Council in June to initiate the petition
process. A petition must be circulated to
the property owners for four weeks. Staff
will report back to Council later in the
summer with the results. Construction of
Bernard Avenue could happen as early as
2012 pending the outcome of the petition.

Please note - the petition was sent to the property owners, not the tenants/merchants in their storefronts. Also note - the petition is done as a negative feedback. If a property owner was in agreement, they did nothing. If they opposed it they had four weeks to return the petition document to city hall.

The petition is here: http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/PDF ... mation.pdf

Page 28 of this document says the property owners are on the hook for 1.3 MILLION BUCKS based on $93 per lineal metre of street frontage each. It also says the city anticipates property owners will choose to finance their share over 20 years so you can add debt servicing to that $93 plm/$1.3 million. http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/PDF ... 20Area.pdf

Merchants who rent from property owners might see an increase in their rents. So, besides losing business during construction, they will also see the cost of doing business going up because of the $1.3 + debt servicing they will have to pay for if their landlord passes those costs along to them.

This document, Bylaw 10557, http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/PDF ... zation.pdf says if the funds are insufficient to recover the costs, the city can raise the amount levied against the property owners to meet the costs.

[grammafreddy]

But what if K96.3 won the bid? Doesn't Walter Gray own that station...or at least owned it until Dallas Gray took over...can you say conflict???

This connection is of interest ...

http://www.downtownkelowna.com/members- ... /about-us/

Board of Directors for 2012/2013

The Downtown Kelowna Association Board of Directors is voted by annually by the membership and serve a two year term. Any property owner, leasee, or tenant located within the Downtown BIA boundary is eligible for nomination and election. Those interested in running in the next election are encouraged to contact Peggy Athans, Executive Director, at [email protected] for more information.

President – Dallas Gray, K96.3 FM
Vice President – Dustin Sargent, Davara Enterprises
Treasurer – Rob Collins, Grant Thornton
Secretary – Dan Allen, Doc Willoughby's Public House
Past President – Andrew Brunton, Pushor Mitchell

Perry Freeman, Colliers International
Brent Lobson, Imperial Parking
Trevor Neill, Mosaic Books
Heather Farris, Delta Grand Okanagan Resort
Jan Johnson, Tigerlily Fashions & Alleycat
David Knapp, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Renee Wasylyk, Troika Developments
Luigi Coccaro, La Bussola Restaurant
Brice MacDermott, MacDermott's & MacD's Lakeside

Ex-Officio - Luke Stack, Councillor, City of Kelowna

The DKA was a major player in the planning of the Bernard Avenue Revitalization. I remember the board of directors makes the decisions for the DKA - not by a vote from the membership - from some project I was following (it may have been this one, it may not have been). They were called out about how many members actually voted and they had to admit none did - that the board made the decision for the members without consultation.

[sparky7691]

Well I hardly think calling you grammaknowitall is that nasty. Or is it calling you name(s) as it was not plural.

But thank you for the post explaining the petition to the downtown property owners. It does explain the ideal, but it doesn't show anywhere that the petition was accepted or denied. Both your links go to "reccomendations".

Can you show any results of the petition, GF? I really would like to know.

[kibbs]

I'm sorry i made a mistake the new bike lanes on bernard are called sharrows and share the road with the cars .Bikes can freely ride amoungst the cars and is apparently all the rage in Europe. That being said the speed limit needs to be reduced to 30k and warning signs for parking cars to watch for cyclists when opening doors ,for Canadian drivers new to the idea.Get in their face bikers use your hand signals the road is ours to and watch for cyclists drivers we don't all have smiley face wheels to catch your eye.

[grammafreddy]

Well I hardly think calling you grammaknowitall is that nasty. Or is it calling you name(s) as it was not plural.

But thank you for the post explaining the petition to the downtown property owners. It does explain the ideal, but it doesn't show anywhere that the petition was accepted or denied. Both your links go to "reccomendations".

Can you show any results of the petition, GF? I really would like to know.

Changing a member's name to one that is intended as an insult is against the Castanet rules. I should have reported you.

Yes, I found the results of the petition (but I suspect a rat in the woodpile with your "I would really like to know" so you probably already know). They are in the Oct 4, 2011 City Clerk's report to council. I could give you the link but it, too, starts with "recommendations" and if you aren't going to read beyond that, you'll never find what you are looking for.

The link explaining the petition to the downtown property owners is dated before the final deadline for objection/submission. Rather difficult to show the result of the petition when the owners hadn't done anything with the petition yet, isn't it? They had four weeks to get their objections into city hall.

What's the reason for your hostility toward me?

[ford150]

@ $93 per meter the cost to a buisness would be about $ 2000 seems to be a good deal for the business. about 9 bucks a month if financed over 20 years.

[kibbs]

That's the cost to the property owner not the business. An owners costs are always marked up before being passed along

bean counters are so boring but you gotta admit numbers don't lie

[grammafreddy]

This could be why no business has gone into the old Bargain store building.

[fall]

Went down there to make a few stops and had no trouble parking in the new area by safeway. The accent shop I went in had 2 employees and one other customer and didnt say hi to us or after walking around for 10 minutes and ignoring us we asked for help. The item we were looking at was 149.99 at the shop and I knew the exact item was on ebay on a bid starting at 22.00 so I asked if she could do any better and was prepared to pay more to shop downtown, she said are you kidding and was rather rude. I tried, and then came home and won the ebay bid on the item for 42.00 plus 18.00 shipped to my door! Places like that make it very hard to shop downtown! Looked at those lamp posts closer to and didnt realize driving by last time that they are made of alot of wood beams, hopefully those stand the test of time vs all steel.

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

A bid starting at 22.00, is not an actual price... Are you kidding here ?

[featfan]

It`s actually amazing some of the online deals that are out there.

[fall]

A bid starting at 22.00, is not an actual price... Are you kidding here ?

Yes, 22 was the starting bid and I won the bid and item for 42.00 and then 18.00 shipped to my door as mentioned in my post, the identical item downtown was 149.99 plus tax! The service was horrible and they really dont help themselves or people to shop where I was downtown. Even asking for a small discount as it was a Christmas decoration item and the items usually go 50 percent off just before or after Christmas anyway and I was willing to pay more to shop small and downtown they wouldnt budge on the absurd price at all so I saved over 100 dollars and shopped from the US and that seller was very friendly and appreciated the sale! If some of these little downtown places want to survive they need to appreciate their customers and aknowledge them at least, I have walked into many shops and they dont even say Hello half the time so I will say Hi how are you today joking. There are some great small businesses to I have had exceptional levels of service at other places so I always am sure to spread the word on those good and bad!

[kibbs]

Yes, 22 was the starting bid and I won the bid and item for 42.00 and then 18.00 shipped to my door as mentioned in my post, the identical item downtown was 149.99 plus tax!

that is why retail stores need to get with the times and stop offering the same old crap,they need unique locally made products ,stop being so lazy hunt down local craftspeople and help sell their product ,you can not compete any other way . stop throwing money away on renovations on Bernard build something great here that will draw people to this town in the summer and the winter.Embrace our history and our roots and funky charm . Slow down the traffic. parallel park the cars ,build a parcade but keep the rest and save the money for something that will do the job intended. People don't shop downtown cause the streets are modern .Its because you get stuff there that you cant get any where else.