Kelowna Talks

If your New Year's resolution is to get healthy, how will you get there? Will you stop smoking, or lose weight? From a strategy and performance perspective, if getting healthy is the goal and losing weight is the objective, strategies are needed to get there. How do you measure your success? Strategic planning for a City is not as quite as straightforward but the concept is the same. How do we know progress is being made on priorities and how are they measured? How do we share the results with the public? In this episode, host Bob Evans talks to Mike McGreer, our Corporate Strategy & Performance Manager, about good planning and upholding the public's trust.

With municipal elections now behind us, there are several new faces around the Council table. Three new Councillors and a new Mayor. The weeks following an election can be a steep learning curve for new folks, there's a lot of information to understand. One of the biggest items is the annual budget, which Council gets its first look at on December 1, ahead of deliberations on December 8. But the budget process starts long before that—much work goes on behind the scenes into this document that's usually around 450 pages.What goes into the City budget and how are property tax increases determined? In this week's episode, host Bob Evans talks to City Manager Doug Gilchrist about the new Council, the budget, and the important task of managing residents' money. 

Neighbourhoods don't happen by chance. How private and public land is used within a city is determined by a Zoning Bylaw, dividing the city into distinct areas and with permitted uses. Compare the layout of a city to that of a home — a toilet in the middle of a living room is the wrong fit.  Zoning ensures an industrial park is not built on farmland and that amenities like schools and grocery stores are built close to residential neighbourhoods. The City recently updated its Zoning Bylaw after more than 25 years. Kelowna has changed a lot over that time and zoning should reflect the growing community. What does it mean for the average property owner? Do you know what you can and cannot build on your own property or what may be coming to a street near you? In this week's episode, host Bob Evans talks to City Planners Adam Cseke and Barbara Crawford on the changes. 

Voting day for municipal elections across BC is October 15. What attracts someone to put their name forward for local government and what should they expect? What is it that Council can and cannot do? Today we are chatting with Stephen Fleming, our City Clerk, to talk about everything that is Election 2022. 

Water is a slippery subject in the Okanagan—we are blessed with this large, beautiful lake and yet in the summer, we often have drought conditions. Water is something that most of us take for granted in our day-to-day lives…we open a tap, and it's available, clean and safe. But for many cities, water is fast becoming a precious and dwindling resource, and Okanagan residents typically use more than twice the Canadian average. In this week's episode, host Bob Evans talks to Kevin Van Vliet, our Utility Services Supervisor, about why we need to conserve more water, and why pumping more from Okanagan Lake isn't the answer.

Events like festivals, sports, and concerts bring culture and entertainment to a city. They attract tourism and can be an economic driver. So what does being an ‘eventful' city look like?  Kelowna's new event strategy aims to bring about a philosophical shift in how the City hosts events. In this week's episode, host Bob Evans talks to Chris Babcock, our Event Development Supervisor, about what the new strategy means for Kelowna, our new signature event, and whether the popular Centre of Gravity festival will ever return. 

As Mayor Basran oversees one of the fastest growing cities in the country, we wanted to hear from you: If you could ask Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran anything you've ever wanted to know, what would you ask?  The response was remarkable, with nearly 150 questions posed to the Mayor. So, you asked and he answered your questions around some of the bigger issues that our city faces. In this week's episode, Mayor Basran talks to host Bob Evans about housing, housing affordability, public safety and some of the social issues that every municipality struggles with. Plus, you'll hear how Mayor Basran envisions our city in 20 years.

We asked you “If you could ask Mayor Basran anything you've ever wanted to know, what would you ask?” The response was incredible, with more than 140 people querying the Mayor on multiple issues...from housing affordability and homelessness to public safety and highrises. Join Mayor Basran as he talks to host Bob Evans about everything that is Kelowna and his hopes for the city, as well as his thoughts on golf courses, traffic, Uber, and even the Mayor of Kamloops. 

Knox Mountain Park is our largest park at nearly 370 hectares, and it's popular, with an average 1,300 people enjoying the park every day. But it's also a fragile ecosystem that needs protecting for future generations, as challenges such as rogue trails and unleashed dogs are a challenge. The City is embarking on a long-term plan for the park and it's not without controversy — a survey the City did in the spring asking the public's thoughts on road access in the park came back with some 8,000 responses. What does the future of Knox Mountain Park look like? Join us as Bob talks to Parks Planner Melanie Steppuhn, to talk about Knox, some of the challenges and why a plan is needed.

Live music, concerts and festivals were among the events put on hold for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. With pandemic restrictions easing, what does the future of live music 'sound' like in the Okanagan? Where does live music live in Kelowna? A new community-driven strategy sets out to advance the sustainability of the music industry in the Central Okanagan, and looks at how to support venues, audiences, artists and partnerships. In this episode of Kelowna Talks, Bob is joined by Nicole Cantley, our community development coordinator, to talk about the new Central Okanagan Music Strategy.

In the spring of 2017, creeks and rivers and Okanagan Lake all spilled their banks during the worst flooding to hit the region in decades. The City has done a lot to manage spring freshet since then but as temperatures climb and snow melts, it's a good time to think about flood preparedness. In this episode of Kelowna Talks, Bob is joined by Rod MacLean, our utility planning manager, to talk about freshet, floods and what we learned from 2017.

Kelowna has many beautiful public spaces but did you know there's a 50-acre park in the middle of the city? Amazing things are happening at Kelowna's Memorial Park Cemetery. Above ground. And six-feet under. In this episode of Kelowna Talks, Bob is joined by Cemetery Manager, Tracey Hillis, to talk about movie nights, the bird watching, hiking and cycling opportunities, and 22,000+ interments.

HACKED! Join Bob this week alongside Jazz Pabla, our Information Services Director, to discuss cyber security and how we are protecting citizens' data. The City of Kelowna is one of the leading municipalities in Canada when it comes to technology . From cyber security to website chatbots to lessening in-person visits to City Hall, Kelowna is on track to become a ‘City of the future'. How does the City protect my information? How is it adapting to enhance the online experience for its citizens? Is a virtual City Hall in the future?

This week Bob is joined by James Moore, our Long Range Policy Planning Manager, to talk housing, and more specifically, infill housing. With the benchmark price of a detached home at $1 million, the affordability of housing is a hot topic in the city right now. The most recent BC Assessment notices show that home prices increased by 30 per cent last year. Not to mention, Kelowna is expecting to see 40,000 people move here over the next 20 years. Are we at a housing crisis or crossroads? What is the City doing to ensure that housing is accessible to all? Neighbourhoods are evolving and more change is coming.  

If you live in Kelowna, chances are you noticed that we've had an extraordinary snowfall this winter. In this episode of Kelowna Talks, Bob is joined by Public Works Manager, Geert Bos, to talk about “all that snow,” how the City managed it and why a winter cycling strategy is being considered. 

This week, Bob is joined by Airport Director Sam Samaddar to discuss the past, present and future happenings at Kelowna International Airport. Sam is passionate about aviation in all aspects of his life—from becoming an air cadet as a child to obtaining a private pilot license by the time he was 18 and now as Kelowna's Airport Director. Operating an airport during a pandemic hasn't been easy but Sam is keen on the future of Kelowna International Airport. Listen to the full episode to find out how YLW pivoted during COVID-19, what the airport means for Kelowna and what it may look like in 2045. 

This week, Bob is joined by Kelowna RCMP superintendent Kara Triance to discuss community safety. Originally from Kelowna, Supt. Triance has more than 20 years of policing experience under her belt. From covert operations to big city policing, Supt. Triance brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our city. How is the city adjusting policing to meet the growth of Kelowna? How does healthcare impact crime in our city? Why does policing cost so much? Efforts are on to bridge the gap between crime, the justice system and health care. Listen to this episode to learn more about the actions that the city is taking to make Kelowna a safer place to live. 

In this episode, Bob is joined by Matt Worona to talk about the actions that the City is taking to encourage people to use other modes of transportation than just their cars. How will we get around in the future? The City of Kelowna has big plans to introduce more transportation options throughout the city. Matt Worona is Kelowna's New Mobility Specialist and he walks listeners through what that might look like.In this episode, learn more about scooters, e-bikes, public transit, bike lanes and why they matter. 

This week, Bob is joined by champion of the environment, Chris Ray, to discuss the City of Kelowna's climate initiatives. His role is centred around the recognition and importance of climate action and environmental protection as a council priority. Annually, Chris reviews the city's climate initiatives and reports to council on additional actions that should be taken to minimize the city's impact on the environment. 

This week, Bob is joined by Ryan Smith to discuss the Official Community Plan for the City of Kelowna. As the divisional director of planning and development services for the city, Ryan knows the plan for Kelowna's future better than anyone. In this episode, Bob and Ryan discuss everything from housing and skyscrapers to traffic and road development.