City’s premiere winter carnival returns with more fun and events
Valley First Frost Fest Winter Carnival is back for an even bigger and better event this year. With new activities and events all weekend, this outdoor festival is the largest of its kind throughout the South Okanagan.
Friday night will kick off with the Frost Fest Gala, a hot air balloon glow up display at Okanagan Lake, followed by a movie night at the Cleland Theatre. Saturday activities include hockey and skating with the Penticton Vees, family-friendly activities in the Kidzfest Family Zone presented by FortisBC, and professional snowboarders competing in the Peach City Rail Jam with a DJ, food
vendors and beverage garden on-site. Sunday closes out with a Frosty Toes Polar Bear Swim hosted by KISU and a pancake breakfast with the Penticton Firefighters Charitable Society.
All of the outdoor events are free to attend and will take place in downtown Penticton in and around Gyro Park from Jan. 17-19, 2025. The Rail Jam event will attract competitors from throughout the region to show off their skills on the 17-foot-high, snow- covered structure.
Full event details are available at penticton.ca/frost-fest
BC Assessment notice reminders
Property assessment notices from BC Assessment are in the mail the first week of January. Once you have it, review the information and if necessary, contact BC Assessment before the deadline of Jan. 31, 2025.
Here are some helpful tips to remember when reviewing your notice:
• An increase in your property assessment does not necessarily result in higher property taxes.
• Property assessments are only one part of what the City uses to calculate municipal property tax rates each year.
• The amount of revenue collected through property taxes is fixed and does not change because of assessed value changes.
• Property assessment values may go
Extra phone number to reach the City
The City of Penticton has set up an alternative contact phone number to ensure the public can report issues or concerns at any time. If you are unable to reach the us using the typical contact numbers, please call 250-490-2345
The City’s telephone service provider has not yet fixed its ongoing technical issues, causing intermittent outages to the City’s phone services. As such, the City has taken a proactive step to create a new, more reliable, phone number.
If you experience an emergency, call 911. The City continues to work with its provider and is seeking an alternative vendor. Thank you for your patience.
Keep sidewalks safe and clear
Thank you for doing your part to keep the sidewalk in front of your home clear from snow and ice this season. It’s your responsibility to clear the sidewalks next to your property by 11 a.m. after a snowfall, as stated in the Good Neighbour Bylaw. This includes transit stops if you have one in front of your property.
Remember, when shovelling your driveway, pile the snow to the left of the driveway (if facing the property) so that when plows go by, they won’t drag piles back into your driveway entrance. For more tips, visit penticton.ca/snow
up or down but the city-wide total property taxes collected will always equal the amount budgeted for.
• Property owners who feel their assessment does not reflect market value as of July 1, 2024 or see incorrect information on their notice should contact BC Assessment as soon as possible to ensure they meet the Jan. 31, 2025 deadline.
Learn more at bcassessment.ca. The toll-free phone number for propertyrelated inquiries is 1-866-825-8322.
Council deliberations lead to smaller tax increase
The City’s draft 2025 capital budget is estimated at $30.3 million with an estimated $82.1 million budget for general operations. The final budget set to be adopted by Dec. 17 includes:
• Hiring two more police officers to create a Community Safety Unit.
• Expansion of the Remote Guard Camera Program.
• A Fire Inspector within the Fire Prevention Division.
• Advancement of the future Community Safety Building for RCMP Community Policing/Bylaw Services and the Fire Hall renewal plan that includes a newly constructed Fire Hall #2 at Dawson Avenue and the Transition of Fire Hall #1 to a satellite hall at Nanaimo Avenue.
• Support for housing affordability with the creation of an affordable housing incentive policy, development of housing on City-owned land, area plans for Transit Oriented Areas and implementing the Social Housing and Infrastructure Plan (SHIP).
• Expansion of the Frost Fest Winter Carnival in January 2025 to increase vibrancy, attract visitors and support a connected community.
• Progression of the city’s recently adopted Urban Forest Master Plan.
• Continued investment in aging utility infrastructure.
The new provisional tax increase for 2025 is set to be 7.88 per cent, reflecting Council’s priorities of Safe and Resilient and Livable and Accessible.
The proposed budget originally saw an increase of 8.63 per cent, but after two days of discussion by Council that number was reduced. Budget deliberations took place on Nov.19 and 20.
The impact for the average residential taxpayer is approximately $14 a month. The increase includes the final year of the tax deferral that was introduced in 2022 and supported a significant increase in public safety investments which equates to 3.06 per cent.
Exclusive offer for Penticton residents
We’ve partnered with TELUS to help you conserve energy and save on your electric bills.
The City of Penticton and TELUS are covering the cost of your household to sign up for TELUS SmartEnergy for one year, at no cost, with the ability to cancel at any time after the one-year pilot (valued at $144).
Also, you can get a smart thermostat and two smart plugs for a one-time cost of $25 (valued at $279). These are yours to keep and do not have to be returned.
This technology will help you learn more about your household energy usage. And it will help you save up to 15% on your utility bills.
Full details and conditions available at penticton.ca/power
Leash-optional use continues for now
Council has requested input from the Parks and Recreation Committee and the Accessibility Committee regarding leashoptional use in the designated trial spaces prior to making a decision on whether any of the locations become permanent.
The designated areas will remain as a leashoptional use until the decision returns to Council after committee input.
Spaces where Fido is welcome off-leash for now include:
• Okanagan Lake Park - 45 Lakeshore Drive E.
• Riverside Park - 187 Riverside Drive.
• Skaha Park Main - 2661 Parkview Street.
• Skaha Park East - 3895 Lakeside Road.
• Water Treatment Plant Entrance1900 Penticton Avenue.
All park users are reminded to share the space respectfully. Those going off-leash are reminded as per City Bylaw regulations that dogs must be monitored and under verbal control at all times, owners must clean up after their dogs and that dogs must be properly leashed when outside of designated zones.