Rutland welfare office a detriment

DEAR EDITOR:

My name is Steve Brandel and I’ve been a resident of Rutland for over 20 years and have served this community for just as long with most of my service in the Rutland area, starting from the year 2000.

I’d like to go on record and clear some misconceptions about Rutland in order to try and move forward to get some answers as to why a welfare office ended up in the heart of our tiny community.

During my service to the City of Kelowna, I spent most of my career, both day and night shifts, working in the Rutland area.

My experience was the complete opposite of what the perception seems to be about Rutland being a rough neighbourhood with drug addicts and thieves.

Although I exited the industry during the earlier stages of the opioid crisis, overdoses were very rare here and seeing a homeless person was unheard of unless you were downtown.

I’ve written and received responses from both the Uptown Rutland Business Association and local MLA Rene Merrifield, and both generally say the same thing: “The property was purchased by the provincial government in 2020 and they did not communicate with any stakeholders in the area.”

So who then is the one that looked at that site and said: “Yes, this checks all the boxes for a welfare office?”

[Premier David Eby,] this is the person we want to speak to to get answers and to see the criteria utilized in site selections.

Let me tell you that we in Rutland have accepted more than our share of this burden. It started when city of Kelowna planners thought it would be a prime location to bulldoze an old church and turn it into a housing facility, which happens to sit one block from our middle school, high school, and not far from an elementary school.

Even though 14,000 people signed a petition on behalf of the kids near this coming facility, the city planners still maintained this was an optimal site to treat addicts, and let them consume on site.

(Let me remind you that no liquor establishment or cannabis retailer would ever be allowed next to schools.)

Shortly after that, (I may be slightly off on my timelines) City of Kelowna planners thought it would be perfect to put another supportive housing building almost right across the street from a brand new Centennial Park and next door to the busiest commercial zone in our area at the corner of Rutland Road and Highway 33.

Shortly after that, another supportive facility was put just west of the Rutland Firehall and virtually right across the street from the brand new Centennial Park and basketball courts.

This was a great area my son was enjoying playing basketball in, until the facility opened and now he even says he does not want to walk near the place due to the unpredictable nature of the people now frequenting the area.

During most of this timeframe the Rutland branch of Interior Health decided it would be a great place to put a mobile safe injection site, even though it was right next door to our mall and grocery store and there were no addicts walking around at the time.

This started to bring more and more addicts out this way and the Rutland Lions Park started to become a homeless hangout and the mall had to hire security guards.

Now, we have the welfare office. And now I’d like to take this to the next level to get some answers to what has now amounted to outright punishment for Rutland residents with zero regards for the outcome of our community, our safety, or our property values.

We have tried to use safety in the past but it seems there are no concerns by any level of government for addressing this issue.

Do we have to turn to Kelowna’s official community plan, which the city holds like a gold medal in times of development, but it disappears in times like the zoning for supportive services?

I can promise you the zoning for this area would not be logical for a welfare office and would not be considered, if brought to our council.

Mr. Eby, you have no idea how large of an atomic bomb you just dropped on Kelowna’s most affordable and family friendly neighbourhood and we will not go away until you reveal the documents, where it shows all the boxes checked as a perfect location for a welfare office.

I will remind you that our community has accepted more than our share of these destructive facilities and they have already transformed neighbourhoods where children won’t go and RCMP now frequent on a regular basis.

Steve Brandel, Kelowna