City council peppers staff on signs, bees, lights, economy

NEWS — Drivers will get some help trying to figure out which lane to get into as they descend the Summit connector and make “counter-intuitive” choices on whether to head across the Overlanders Bridge or head downtown.

That was one of the many items raised at today’s City council meeting as councillors peppered staff about the development and engineering services department’s annual report.

Improved directional signage is one of the changes planned by the department.

In answer to a question from Coun. Nelly Dever about the news last week that KGHM has an impending agreement on mineral rights with Cicada Ventures Ltd. on the Iron Mask mining property, department director Marvin Kwiatkowski said the City is looking toward future industrial development in the area but “I won’t get into who owns what.”

Coun. Pat Wallace asked if countdown timers at intersections could be expanded to more parts of the city. She said people often run red lights at 3rd and 4th Avenues, for example.

Kwiatkoski said his department is continuing to look at countdown timers.

Coun. Donovan Cavers wondered if any progress has been made on the issue of beekeeping within the city. That, too, is “currently underway,” said Kwiatkowski.

“It’s kind of reflective of what’s happening out in the general economy,” Coun. Arjun Singh said of building statistics for the past year that showed an overall decline.

“How much do we actually make an impact?” he asked of the City’s role in the economy.

“We create a culture” of being business friendly, responded Kwiatkowski. He said the City promotes “a general feeling of ‘let’s try to make things happen.'”

Coun. Tina Lang wanted improvements to the City’s website because people complain they have trouble finding their way around.

But, she said, “The fact that Kamloops sort of ticks along at a steady pass is reassuring to me. We’re not going to have the boom and bust.”

Buses, mobile homes and tipping fees were among the other items raised at the meeting. Council also introduced a bylaw changing the heritage exception status of the CN building and approved free bus passes for participants in the April 27 Boogie event.