Bridge / lights to nowhere

[southy]

That backhoe has been there for months. I drive by there frequently and really ... nothing is happening.

[RupertBear]

That backhoe has been there for months. I drive by there frequently and really ... nothing is happening.

Interesting, because I drive by there quite frequently, and I have been watching for activity, and today was the first day I noticed the backhoe and storage container. Pretty sure I would have noticed it before.

[Tony]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand... now it's gone. What an incredible waste of money!

[Darkre]

Penticton Nissan does have a website up and the address listed is in the Satikw Crossing development.

Their website states they will be opening Fall 2017 and that they are hiring if anyone is interested.

http://www.pentictonnissan.com/

[twobits]

Penticton Nissan does have a website up and the address listed is in the Satikw Crossing development.

Their website states they will be opening Fall 2017 and that they are hiring if anyone is interested.

http://www.pentictonnissan.com/

No date on that website creation. Given that we are only days away from April and there is no evidence of a road and infrastructure start that would have to be completed before the actual dealership building could start, I think a fall opening might be a tad optimistic. Don't forget that the City provided a sewer connection to the bridge, not potable water so that water has to cross a lot of real estate to reach this developed land.
The bridge itself was announced to be started every year for about ten yrs too. My skepticism comes from the history of failed announcements and it is only when we see actual iron on the ground and bucket in the ground that they become real. I understand the want of creating some mass interest to drive the project, but so many failed announcements has put a serious crimp on the credibility of performance.
But who knows? Maybe they secured some more gov't money? Maybe the Casino ransom money?

[twobits]

I saw a few lifts of pvc pipe across the bridge today. Could something really be happening?

[coolworx]

As a cyclist who often uses the channel pathway, I love the new bridge!

[twobits]

As a cyclist who often uses the channel pathway, I love the new bridge!

Ya me too. It was way too far a stretch between the industrial ave bridge and Skaha. Now I can cut off about 700 unnecessary meters from my bike ride.

[pentona]

I saw a few lifts of pvc pipe across the bridge today. Could something really be happening?

Your comment was made back in March. I also saw the pipes but nothing much else has occurred since then (that is visible). Wonder what the holdup is?

[seewood]

Wonder what the holdup is?

I suspect basic infrastructure is not in place. I can't remember if Penticton has run sewer lines and water lines to that area yet. Has Fortis installed hydro there? is it underground? Cable? Fire protection agreements been worked out? If anyone builds there, what kind of insurance for fire protection? If you are building on band or locatee land, how does a bank loan work?

[JagXKR]

One hold up was due to the high water table. Earlier on there were pumps going 24/7 pumping water. 3rd hand info but I heard that the cops were called one night because someone saw something at the site in the wee hours. Was apparently a worker refilling the generator with gas to keep the pumps going. Again, 3rd hand.
Just drove by today and saw the base of the building. Seems they are working hard now that the water table is lower.

[Symbonite]

Or maybe its the current PIB Council....I mean can they not do anything right look north look south....why the red tape on everything....

[twobits]

[
I suspect basic infrastructure is not in place. I can't remember if Penticton has run sewer lines and water lines to that area yet. Has Fortis installed hydro there? is it underground? Cable? Fire protection agreements been worked out? If anyone builds there, what kind of insurance for fire protection? If you are building on band or locatee land, how does a bank loan work?

Penticton has supplied a sewer connection only across the bridge.
No City water connection.
Power would be from Fortis....not the City. Where it will be fed from????
Fire protection is from the PIB Fire Dept. Insurance rates would be dependent on the Dept's level of certification and water supply for fire fighting purposes.
Bank loans go thru the Indian Act with Fed guarantee's on leased land I believe. A lot safer than it used to be but I will defer to others with more knowledge than I on that topic.

[Dawnland]

Hey B!tchez! I started my holidays a few hours ago, so I thought I'd drop in as a private, anonymous forum poster to give y'all snowflakes (meant a s a term of endearment, I'm honouring your culture.) the 4-1-1 on what's going on... just so you don't look so darn silly to the PIB members who read the diatribe on this forum.
"Better to appear foolish, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt" (said by somebody way smarter than me, but who really gets it.) Enough of my holiday mode.
OK, the holdup is always water. INAC is the one who authorizes the water permits, if we come across painted turtles or hibernacula, wildlife mitigation is required with CWS and in some cases, like with the water, we have to keep updating and redoing water plans or capacity plans and assessments, depending on the poor schmuck that's filling in for whoever is assigned to the case file. You wanna talk about a useless bureaucracy?! They like to fly teams out here to meet because it's important for the people in Ottawa to see the entire scope of the project. I would like to say that it shouldn't take that long, but guess what? It does. We've been really lucky lately with our new chief. He's made some really sound decisions which were based on his and the councils feedback from engagement with various community groups. And we have had way better turn around times for approvals.
JagXKR was right when it came to the water table stuff, it really threw a wrench into things but not necessarily the water itself, but for what it was displacing. PIB lands have been undeveloped for so long that many red and blue listed endangered species live in some of the most desirable lands. You know the riparian area behind Doc's Golf? That area is home to 25 of those species and at one point there were 5 government and non-government organizations who were leasing the land to prevent it from being developed. Now, due to the kindness of one of the locatee land owners, the En'owkin Centre was able to purchase some of those lands so they don't have to make monthly lease payments for that parcel... but a large portion is still leased.
86% of PIB's 46,000+ acres is protected land. The majority of the land you see on the lower reserve and along the roadway out of town is locatee owned. Most of that locatee land is available for development, you just have to contact PIBDC to help connect you with the appropriate land owner. So, Symbonite, take your Chief and Council comment and see the quote above.
There is hope though! Not all is lost! The current Lands Manager is working towards having a lands management act approved by community and ratified by council. These Land Codes remove 2/3rds of the INAC red tape when developing certain lands.
The community is serviced by Fortis electricity for the most part.
Fire protection is provided under a shared service agreement with the City of Penticton and as far as insurance coverage, every band home and facility is covered, lease facilities require their own coverage but rates are quite reasonable because of that service agreement along with PIBFD for backup (who has certification for darn near everything except for internal structure, that's next on the list of training).
A process has been initiated with the Ministry of Transportation for construction of the intersection servicing Skaha Hills. This is a difficult one because there is about 5 different family land owners in that area who are heavily impacted. The projected sales and development of Skaha Hills has exceeded all expectations by about 7 years, so people were planning for it, but those timelines have moved up, a lot.
Y'all gotta know I have mad respect for you. This forum is one of the reasons that I went and got my degree in communications. I thought to myself that I could affect the most change in our sassy little town if I could just share what's going on. Our community is so awesome and it could be even better (especially for the kids) if we got rid of the "Us vs. them" dialogue. We don't need the hate, it just makes us look bad.
I figure most of this will be censored out for various reasons, but since I'm on holidays, I'm feelin a bit rowdy and will just throw caution to the wind.

[JagXKR]

Any comments on the current council and chief regarding the group in the paper? Does it have anything to do with those who want to move forward and those that do not? And yes I have met, not recently though, with band members that have the opposite opinions on the future of the band. Especially with developments such as the Satikw Crossing and Skaha Hills.