TOWN'S DEALS WITH DEVELOPERS GIVES BAD IMPRESSION

OSOYOOS TIMES-April 30, 2008

It's hard not to feel that the Town of Osoyoos is getting ahead of itself in terms of some of its relationships with developers looking to build in the area.

On April 24 Mayor John Slater signed a memorandum of understanding with the man behind the proposed Willow Beach Resort, Robert Wilson.

The agreement says that the Willow Beach developers will help cover some of the price tag for the Northwest Sewer Project and the twinning of water services to Osoyoos water system number 8.

This deal comes on the heels of a mid-April pledge from the Town to extend its sewage system beyond town boundaries to treat waste from the Willow Beach Resort.

Both of these agreements hinge on the development actually being approved by the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS). It only recently passed second reading.

And at a public hearing prior to the April 21 Osoyoos council meeting focusing on a potential new development at the water slide property on Lakeshore Drive, it was revealed that the firm hoping to build at the site was already advertising accommodations in Osoyoos and had an eight-month working relationship with town staff.

Second and third readings for that development have been postponed.

The message that can easily come across to the general public is that the Town considers these development proposals done deals and the process of readings and public hearings at the municipal and regional levels is essentially an exercise of going through the motions.

In the case of Willow Beach, the promises the developers are making to help clean up Osoyoos Lake and ensure safe drinking water are admirable, as is the Town's commitment to treat the resort's wastewater.

But the memorandum of understanding with the Town makes it seem as if there are back-room negotiations taking place, especially since Slater is the Osoyoos representative on the RDOS board, and no one with authority to approve the project cares about the approval process.

The information that came out regarding the Lakeshore Drive development gives the impression that the Town and the developer consider the project approved with little regard for public comment or community bylaws.

Whether anything shady is actually going on behind closed doors is debatable.

Chances are everything is on the level.

The problem is that, from here, it sure seems as if our local government is going behind our backs.