Dumping of used needles targeted

Penticton city council set to consider plan suggesting placement of needle disposal boxes in public spaces

Flagship public gathering spaces such as the gazebos at the SS Sicamous and Okanagan Lake Park should be fitted with needle disposal boxes, according to a new safety plan to be presented today to city council.

A coalition of 17 community agencies partnered on the so-called Sharps Disposal Strategy to help curb the growing prevalence of discarded needles — mainly used for injecting drugs — in public spaces.

Key goals of the strategy are reducing the risk of injury to people who might get poked with a discarded needle, raising awareness of the issue and “ensuring that all people who use needles can access safe disposal, and that stray needles, also called sharps, are dealt with promptly and safely,” notes a copy of the report provided to council.

The strategy suggests installing 20 needle boxes in public washrooms around the city, plus another 10 stand-alone boxes near the two gazebos, Soupateria, library, on two walking trails and at four subsidizedhousing facilities.

Locations were selected based on anticipated need, and boxes will be emptied, and their contents tracked, by staff from two local non-profit groups.

Council is also set to host a public hearing for a proposed 52-unit social housing project at 179 Green Ave.

City staff are recommending in favour of the rezoning and development permit required for BC Housing to get the project off the ground.

Planning manager Blake Laven wrote in his report to council that an open house in April attracted about 45 people, who expressed a range of opinions about the proposal.

“The majority of attendees, though, had some reservations and anxieties about what impact the residents of the building would have on the larger neighbourhood, especially as the neighbourhood does feature a middle school and high school,” Laven noted.

BC Housing, which intends to contract out operation of the building, plans to provide meals, security, counselling and other services to residents to help them transition to more permanent housing.

The project is part of the B.C. NDP government’s commitment to build 2,000 new units of social housing.

Later in the meeting, council will consider forcing the owners of six local pawnshops to subscribe to an online database through which police can track their merchandise.

The database is currently in use in Kamloops, Kelowna and other B.C. cities at a cost to merchants of about $300 per year.

Finally, council will debate LocoLanding’s request for a 10year lease extension on its publicly owned site on Riverside Drive that would run through 2038.

In his report to council, finance manager Jim Bauer doesn’t make a firm recommendation, but does note a lawyer suggested the city sign a new deal Jan. 1, 2029, when the current agreement runs out, rather than ink an extension now.

The attraction operators asked for the extension to get certainty ahead of a planned $2-million renovation.

Committee of the whole, at which the sharps strategy will be presented, begins at 1 p.m., immediately followed by the regular meeting. The public hearing starts at 6 p.m.

All meetings are held in council chambers and are public.