Kelowna will spend $300,000 worth of artificial cheer to replace two city-owned Christmas trees.
The faux arbors in question are the 24-footers in Stuart and Rutland Centennial Park used during holiday light-ups.
The replacement trees will be 40-feet-tall.
The expenditure was discussed during a presentation on minor adjustments to the city’s first-quarter budget.
Coun. Gordon Lovegrove pressed bureaucrats on what he called an “amazingly large amount of money” for plastic, backed by a letter from a concerned resident.
City staff explained that until about 15 years ago, a real tree had been used in Rutland. However, cutting down a live tree for just a month-long display was ultimately deemed wasteful.
They noted that there had also been a designated Christmas tree at the corner of Water Street and Bernard Avenue, but it faced challenges.
“But as you know, these trees don’t fare very well in an urban environment, need a lot of TLC and take up valuable park space,” a member of staff said.
These factors ultimately led to the decision to switch to artificial trees.
