City council fails to stand up for Rutland again

They packed out the Kelowna city council chambers on Tuesday with all standing room taken up.

They sat on the floor and overflowed into the hallways. Young and old, parents and children, they came to plead their case with the nine-member council at a meeting that should have been held in Rutland.

The issue was whether a major, 50-unit substance-addiction building, sponsored by Freedom’s Door, should get rezoning and a change to the official community plan.

Hundreds of Rutland residents lined up to speak, in a five-hour marathon. expressing their many concerns with the location and with what was happening in Rutland, generally.

They spoke of the busy traffic at the McCurdy and Rutland Road intersection. They noted the 50unit building with commercial underneath, controlled by the Knights of Columbus, would dump even more traffic into the area. And in a busy school-zone area.

They noted there were three major schools in the area with about 2,500 students and that they did not feel the men treated there would be a good example, even in their use of recreational facilities.

They expressed concerns that this is primarily a residential area with many young children and also wondered at the impact on their property values. Many were parents who were brought to tears as they tried hard to control their emotions.

Many were irritated that Rutland has become a dumping ground for drug users and drug peddlers since the city established a red zone to force them out of the downtown area.

They stated quite clearly that there are too many “treatment” programs dumped into Rutland that have created many problems, and that there was little law enforcement.

They presented the latest research evidence that programs, relying mainly on withdrawal , do not work and that there is close to a 90 per cent relapse. They noted that addictions are usually a lifetime struggle.

Freedom’s Door had all its ducks in a line under the watchful eye of former city councillor Tom Smithwick. His 15-minute presentation highlighted the amenities in the area, but was short on specifics of treatment.

At one point, he stated the addicts could be locked out to wander the streets if they did not meet the 10 p.m. curfew. That did not impress the residents.

No one from the local residents was allowed to speak 15 minutes, which Smithwick did at the beginning and end of the meeting. He did not mention the schools in the area at all.

The Rutland residents showed their best side in pointing out that they thought Freedom’s Door had a good program despite sketchy evidence. Their primary concern was for the thousands of children using the area and for their future safety and well being.

Freedom’s Door lined up its supporters, who were mostly from outside the area or staff members, and even some addicts currently in treatment. However, most Rutland residents were not buying the overblown suggestion that the other treatment centres had no problems whatsoever, and that recurrent addiction did not occur.

Kelowna, and indeed the Central Okanagan, has a major drug addiction problem. The city is in a desperate struggle to prove it is doing something.

Can you guess how the nine councillors voted? Basically, ignoring Rutland concerns, again, those in favour were Mayor Colin Basran and councillors Gail Given, Tracy Gray, Luke Stack, Maxine DeHart and Ryan Donn.

Opposed were councillors Charlie Hodge, Mohini Singh and Brad Sieben. Other than Hodge, few councillors asked any questions of the residents. The motions passed 6-3. Managing Rutland, in some reasonable manner, still seems to be a major challenge for city council.

The Rutland Centennial Community Hall area is to have a bus route through the heart of it, causing even more traffic problems. The old softball diamond, now managed by the city, is a collection of burned out weeds. Stores openly sell marijuana paraphernalia. And there is still no significant movement on a new Rutland Middle School, despite decades of lobbying. Meanwhile, new schools pop up in the Mission area as they seem to avoid helping with drug problems.

It is hard to believe the residents of this family neighbourhood will now welcome the “treatment” centre with open arms. They will probably keep a close, watchful eye and hope there is law enforcement when needed. That too, has been sorely lacking, as expressed by the residents.

There is not a single councillor who seems to speak for Rutland’s concerns. Lake Country has a ward system where councillors speak first for their area. It is well past time that Kelowna gave this consideration to affect overdue improvements for Rutland.

Perhaps this should be done before the next municipal election. Rutland residents should be prepared to vote accordingly.

Reg Volk writes on politics and local issues. Email: regvolk@shaw.ca