Airport improvement fee
Council agreed to amend the Airport Fees Bylaw to allow for an increase to the Airport Improvement Fee. The fee applies to each departing passenger and will be $25 effective March 1, 2020, up from $20 currently. The fee increase is necessary to pay for nearly $220 million in improvements planned for the airport over the next 10 years – improvements necessary due to a large growth in passenger traffic. For more information, see the presentation here.
Free parking
For the 24th consecutive year, Council agreed to a request by the Downtown Kelowna Association to provide complimentary on-street parking downtown each Saturday during the month of December.
Doyle Avenue redevelopment
Council received an update regarding the potential establishment of a 6,000-square-foot space creative hub in a community amenity space to be built as part of the redevelopment plan for the former downtown RCMP detachment site at 350 Doyle Avenue. Read the full report here.
Civic awards
Council endorsed a new Civic & Community Awards Policy to guide the annual awards program. The revised award categories include establishing gender neutral awards for the citizen volunteer categories and simplifying categories. The updated categories include Young Citizen of the Year (one award); Fred Macklin and Sarah Donalda-Treadgold Memorial Citizen of the Year (one award); Champion for the Environment (one award), and; Corporate Community of the Year (one award). All other categories will remain the same for the 2019 awards season.
E-scooters
Council heard an update on the City’s bikeshare permit program, which saw permits issued to five different operators to deliver shared e-bikes and e-scooters. Between mid-July to mid-October 2019, there were more than 20,000 rides. Council asked staff to report back on restricting e-scooters from the waterfront walkway.