What's your #1 issue

[livewire]

Just out of curiosity if you could ask this city to do or change ONE thing, what would it be?

I'm hoping this will not evolve into arguments over who's thoughts are dumb/right/etc just wondering what the major issues are among the people in this forum.

[mountain sky]

I know this is two, but it could all fall under the "Broken window scenario" it would go a long way to make the City more marketable.

1. Brownfield sites from "abandoned" "non-developed" derelict buildings. PLEASE City Council ask for a bond with a Development Permit (aka insurance policy) that if the development falls thru or is abandoned, that the City gets the bond and uses the money to grass over, remediate to an attractive and safe site (not just fenced off weeds and rusitng rebar) and take care of the site until something happens on it

2. Also, have architectual development guidlines and signage policy in nodes of the City such as Skaha Tourist, Downtown, Channel, Lakefront etc. that development MUST follow. Character and historical empasis.

Both these things do not increase the tax base at all but would start to make the City more attractive. It is falling apart and we are getting cheap developments as a result.

[DblDwn11]

There are obviously several issues facing Penticton but I think the #1 priority has to be increasing our tax base. Our tax base is shrinking every day (check the obits).

In order to do that, we need to create more skilled labour jobs. We need to keep the young graduates here, gainfully employed. Bottom line, we need them to stay.

That is no easy task and can't be accomplished overnight but a clear strategic plan needs to be drawn up and implemented with that goal in mind.

I think current council is on the right track by encouraging commercial economic investment through an incentive program but more needs to be done. I have read over the minutes from the various committee's that are in charged with coming up with these kind of strategies and they are doing a poor job to this point.

[dreamon]

Just out of curiosity if you could ask this city to do or change ONE thing, what would it be?

A lack of a cohesive vision and plan for the City and surrounding area.

The area as I will call it as it involves more than what lies within City boundaries, needs effective leadership that pulls everyone together and moving toward common goals.

Growth is vital, but needn't be only associated with the typical real estate based growth, not there is anything wrong with that. Growth can encompass so much more.

The area has so much to offer, but also has so many entities, power struggles, empire building, self serving people involved that very little gets done. If the area, hypothetically bordered by and including Bonita Winery and Chute Lake to the North, Ok Falls to the South and Apex to the West, were to be governed by one District Council with representatives from each area, pooled tourism, marketing and EDC resources, working together as a team, the area would be invincible.
Costs would be saved to a point, but the outcome could be huge.

Edited to expand it a bit:
One Chamber of Commerce for the area with a representative from each area, same for Economic Development, Tourism and Marketing.
One set of City/Area government employees, many of the admin functions are duplicated and triplicated. Many people are close to retirement. It could be done in such a way that the labour savings could come about through retirement and attrition.

[Dawnland]

I agree with Dreamon.

A lack of a cohesive vision and plan for the City and surrounding area.

I think removing the term 'lack of a' from the quote would be suited to the query.
I would also like to see a council made of a cross section of local residents. Orchardists, vintners, students, youth, ranchers have valuable input and we don't operate in silos.
It isn't just the RDOS with a role in this partnership, it would be great too for a developed partnership with the Penticton Indian Band. It has been way too long to live in the V2A together and yet continue with an 'us and them' perspective. If tourism is down in the city it affects us all, same with drought, same with local, provincial and federal politics. I'm sure we would all like to see this area grow to support each other. Kalenden, Okanagan Falls, Trout Creek and Naramata all have a vested interest in this bigger picture.
We were once a town of newly-wed and nearly-dead, with a downtown core of bars and banks. We don't even have that anymore. We have pawn shops and beer stores. We need to be a community that supports interests of socially responsible citizens. We have post-secondary institutes in our city that promote excellence within a city that shuns new ideas.
The trends indicate a shift in how people want to live and grow in their families and community. The 'farmers market' is a prime example. Environmentally friendly initiatives in the area are a step in the right direction, too bad about the chickens though.
The garbage bins in the downtown core that had the historical photos on them were cool. I think that to incorporate new thinking into old-school style may be effective to keep our 'same ol' supporters' happy. I would think that those waste bins could have a compost compartment and coffee cup recycle. It would be cool to have our restaurateurs use compostable food wrappers. The Lowermainland has moved to pass legislation that removes all food scraps from the landfill. Everyone has to compost now so it's not like our tourist base would be inconvenienced.
These initiatives are now big money and big culture. We need to transition to our grandparents Penticton. We grow our food, we care for the land that our food grows in, we support each other in the economic arena and we are the community that is the place to stay forever.

[mug48]

My opinion of our #1 issue is the Liberals along with Dan Aston keep the somewhat wishy washy word and build our new hospital expansion without cutting the budget allotted and even add to it as time costs money and 300 million can lessen in value in quick order while the politics waste time. The extension should begin within 6 months if the government is loyal to it's voters.