Requests ranged from sidewalks and walkways to improvements to the indoor arena.
At the public budget component of Salmon Arm council’s meeting on Monday, Sept. 10, several requests were made for funds.
They included:
• Betty Welch and Jerry Emmel, on behalf of concerned citizens of ‘The Ridge,’ requested a sidewalk extension from 10th Avenue SW to Foothill Road on 10th Street SW.
In a letter to the city, they wrote: “A large number of citizens use 10th Street SW every day, winter and summer, day and night. It is the main access for residents to get to downtown and two malls. Sections of 10th Street presently provide little shoulder for pedestrians and it is unsafe, considering the large number of vehicles that use this route usually at a higher than posted speed. Last year we submitted to the city, over 100 signatures of concerned residents requesting that a sidewalk be provided.”
• Phil Wright, president of the Salmon Arm & Shuswap Lake Agricultural Association, submitted a plan the association has developed for improvements to the Memorial Arena.
They were listed: first priority is to upgrade the obsolete fluorescent lighting as the bulbs are no longer available and the lighting is essential for indoor soccer to continue; second priority is to renovate the former change rooms into multi-purpose space; put on new siding with the addition of a heritage mural; upgrade the front entrance and; lastly, erect an illuminated sign on the front to advertise events.
The total cost of the project is $323,000. The association is requesting $34,908 to complete the lighting upgrade.
• Winston Pain, chair of the Shuswap Trail Alliance, made a proposal for a $40,000 annual request as part of a 2012-2015 operational plan. The $40,000, matched by $60,000 from other core partners, would help advance the regional trail strategy. Pain noted that since 2006, shared efforts with the city have leveraged more than $1.5 in new infrastructure, including: the Park Hill West trail system, the Rubberhead trail system, the Larch Hills Traverse, the Greenway sign blitz and the South Canoe management plan. The new operational plan will allow: ongoing trail stewardship; five-year Greenway priorities including Turner Creek and the Heritage Trail; destination trail priorities including South Canoe and the Larch Hills Traverse; partnership with First Nations on the West Bay; and expansion to the Greenway corridor sign program.
• Karen Bubola and Kari Wilkinson with the Salmon Arm Children’s Festival Society requested financial support for the festival, which now costs approximately $18,000 to $20,000 dollars each year to put on. They noted that more than 5,500 people attended this year’s festival.
• Volunteer firefighters Nigel Watts and Alan Middleton requested $15,000 for the BC Volunteer Firefighters Spring Training Seminar that Salmon Arm will be hosting in April. The funds would help offset the cost of renting the Shaw Centre, training materials, plus promotions for the fire department’s centennial. The seminar is expected to bring 450 firefighters and volunteers from all over B.C., and 50 vendors will be showcasing their lines and products.
• Marius Krukowski reiterated a request for a cantilevered walkway on Lakeshore Drive at a cost of $2,400,000.
In an earlier presentation to council, he noted the large and constant amount of pedestrian traffic on the narrow and winding road. He had proposed an extension to the existing raised walkway between Heron View and the Prestige Harbourfront Resort along the foreshore with a crossing/overpass connecting the existing structure to the new raised walkway – which would run alongside Lakeshore Drive up to 23rd Avenue NE. The request was supported by a petition.
Council listened to all the requests and city staff will now work to compile a draft budget which council will receive Nov. 7. On Nov. 19, council will discuss the budget at a special council meeting.