City moving ahead with update of Main Street

Penticton Herald Staff

By this time next year, a revitalized 300 block of Main Street in downtown Penticton may already have a summer’s worth of use on its new paving stones.

City council voted 6-1 on Tuesday to begin the process of getting assent from affected property owners for a special tax to raise $300,000 towards the approximately $2.2-million cost of the revitalization project.

If the tax is approved, the city would chip in $350,000 from its water utility reserve to fund upgrades of aging underground infrastructure and borrow the other $1.5 million, according to the terms of a staff proposal.

The plan calls for the 300 block to get the same treatment as the 100 and 200 blocks already had, with one lane of traffic being taken out in favour of wider sidewalks and all-new surface amenities.

“I hope we can stop referring to this type of project as a ‘spend’ instead of an ‘investment,’” said Coun. Campbell Watt, who “fully” supports going ahead with the upgrade.

The lone vote in opposition was registered by Coun. Helena Konanz, who suggested the city has more pressing needs arising from its aging infrastructure, which was in need of $175 million worth of repairs last year.

“I don’t see this being a 2018 project, considering all the other issues we have throughout the city right now,” said Konanz who cited an additional concern about how the $1.5-million loan would be serviced

Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said he, too, was “not 100 per cent sold” on borrowing for the project, but wanted to at least test the waters with affected property owners before making a decision.

Development services manager Anthony Haddad said that, as a group, the property owners are more receptive to the idea of helping pay for revitalization than their peers were on the 100 and 200 blocks.

“This has been a lot easier conversation with people, given they can now see the improvements that were actually put in place,” said Haddad.

He told council the proposed changes would result in a net increase of eight parking stalls.

Twelve trees would have to be cut down to make way for improvements, but would be replaced with 27 new ones, he added.

Works would begin in late winter and be complete by mid-June 2018.