Water park development in Penticton riles former mayor, residents

A former mayor and other residents will rally outside Penticton city hall on Monday to protest city council's decision to turn public park land into a private water park.

Jake Kimberley, who was mayor of Penticton from 2005 to 2008, told Daybreak South host Chris Walker that a quarter of Skaha Lake Park will be leased to Trio Marine Group for a waterfront development. The Skaha Lake Marina will include a marina, restaurant and water park with five water slides.

Kimberley said residents in the Okanagan city are angry. A petition launched by a resident against the decision has already gained over 700 signatures.

"It's taking away a fairly big chunk of a park that's been acquired over the years," he said. "People now recognize that 25 per cent of the park is being taken away, so they're extremely upset and rightfully so."

Residents' concerns fall on deaf ears

Kimberley said that many are upset that there wasn't a referendum on the issue, adding that a previous public hearing on the development did not take residents' views into consideration. Councillors voted 5-2 to support the development.

"It seemed like [council] already predetermined their decision prior to the public hearing, he said.

"That was really quite upsetting to 98 per cent of the people that attended the public hearing, because there were three and a half hours of presentations by the general public and all their concerns and interests fell on deaf ears."

Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said council was not closed-minded.

"Penticton is sometimes a community that is slow to change and everyone gets very excited," he told Daybreak South.

"We go into these public meetings with open minds...but that doesn't mean who shows up at the public meeting dictates what direction council should go."

Project could benefit Penticton

Jakubeit said council decided to approve the development because they wanted to inject what he calls some vibrancy into Skaha Lake.

"It's different if we were going to put a dry cleaner or apartment building there, but we're putting [in] a water park and enhancing that area and creating more of a destination for visitors and obviously for our residents."

He added that the loss of a quarter of the park land is inaccurate because 10 per cent of the park is already being used for commercial development.

Jakubeit said he realizes change can be hard for many, but said that some previously contentious projects — such as the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre — have since become a success for the city.

"They are amenities that bring tremendous value and community benefit and we're all proud of those things."

He also said the development has financial gains for the city.

"We can use that money to enhance not just Skaha Park but other parks as well," he said. 

A splash pad that was donated to Skaha Lake Park will be relocated by Trio Marine Group and will remain accessible to the public for free.

To hear the full interview click on the audio labelled: Penticton water park