Local realtor Kevin Primeau, who has had a long career coaching professional hockey, asked council to help fund a two-day celebrity charity event in Osoyoos, Oliver and Penticton. The event would bring hockey alumni from the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers, as well as country music personalities, including Gord Bamford, who is working with Primeau on the project. (Keith Lacey photo)
A major fundraising event involving celebrity hockey alumni and country music artists was one of the proposals brought to council Thursday night at a public budget meeting.
The Osoyoos Sticks and Pics Charity Event, planned for May 16-17, was brought to council by Kevin Primeau, a local realtor who has had a long career coaching professional hockey.
Others making presentations and seeking funds from the 2018 budget included the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard, the Osoyoos and District Museum and Archives, Jane Slater and Kenton Gilchrist.
Primeau said he is teaming up with Canadian country singer Gord Bamford to organize the event that will take place in Osoyoos, Oliver and Penticton.
It includes Spirit Ridge/Hyatt Resort in Osoyoos for accommodations, banquet and the concert location.
There will also be an 18-hole golf game at Canyon Desert Golf Course in Oliver and an autograph session, hockey game and VIP reception at the South Okanagan Event Centre in Penticton.
The hockey game will feature alumni from the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers, with two 20-minute periods. Between periods, there will be a 12-minute game involving the minor hockey team that has sold the most tickets for the event, Primeau said.
He asked the town for $25,000 for the event, saying he was receiving donations in kind from Hyatt and Nk’Mip and he would be seeking funding from Oliver and Penticton.
The charities involved include Children’s Miracle Network; the Gord Bamford Foundation, which supports various children-based initiatives; Boys of Fall Charity; and Spirit of the Game.
“In conversations over the past weeks with people around town, we realized that it appears it was a little bit more of an elite event, so we’ve really focused on trying to put Osoyoos first,” said Primeau.
This includes seeking involvement of local businesses, residents and artists, he said.
Many of the celebrities have waived their usual fees to appear at charity events and instead will come for $1,000 each plus accommodations, Primeau said.
“You don’t get this level of celebrity to come to these events,” he said. “It’s really unique and that’s (the $1,000 fee) one of our larger expenses for the event. They’ve agreed to come for a fraction of what they normally do.”
Mayor Sue McKortoff thanked Primeau for his presentation.
“It’s very ambitious what you have set out for a couple of months from now,” she said.
Speaking for the Osoyoos Gift Cupboard was Gaye Horn, one of three local women behind the initiative that provides donated items to people who need them.
In the audience, but not speaking, were the other two women, Brenda Dorosz and Jen Shiels.
Horn asked for a grant of $2,000 for operating funds.
She pointed out that in the past year the Gift Cupboard has provided more than $3,000 in supplies and distributed about $2,000 worth of clothing and bedding.
“This included helping families and individuals that have suffered loss from fire, misadventure and families needing help at Christmas, as well as through the Gift Cupboard itself,” Horn said, referring to the cupboard located next to town hall.
Council members expressed appreciation to the three women for the work they do and service they provide.
Speaking for the museum was Mat Hassen, president of the board of directors.
Hassen noted that the museum’s annual grant from the town has remained unchanged since 2009 at $51,000.
In 2011, the Osoyoos Museum Society agreed not to seek additional financial support from the town following a referendum to purchase the building now occupied by the Home Building Centre, Hassen said.
“This was done because there was an honest belief at the time that the museum society would gain possession of the property within two to two and a half years,” Hassen said.
The new location would enhance revenues from admissions and would make the museum eligible for $25,000 in annual provincial funding.
Since then, however, the building centre has twice extended its lease so that now the museum won’t get possession until 2020.
Hassen pointed out that it’s now just under two years until the museum gains possession and it would like to hire a museum assistant to improve collections management, develop new exhibits and prepare for the move.
He asked the town to add $5,000 to its annual grant, increasing it to $56,000.
Jane Slater, who lives near the intersection of 89th Street and 78th Avenue, raised concerns about the road from Main Street next to Smitty’s Family Restaurant and Peanut Lake.
It is one of the few streets from Main Street with no sidewalks, she said, pointing out that people use it to circumvent Main Street.
It’s “very dangerous” she said, pointing to the amount of traffic, including large trucks coming from the Home Building Centre.
Jim Zakall, director of financial services, informed Slater that a sidewalk for this street is in the five-year capital plan and is scheduled for 2019.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” said Slater, who then asked to speak about the merits of tiny houses, encouraging the town to adopt zoning that would allow them.
These, she said, would benefit the town’s aging population and also could help to alleviate the shortage of long-term rentals.
McKortoff told her the town has a new director of planning and development services who may have ideas about this.
Finally, local filmmaker Kenton Gilchrist spoke to council about his plan to produce a series of short economic development videos showcasing Osoyoos outside the tourist season.
He recently brought the idea to Destination Osoyoos, which doesn’t have a budget to find his initial proposal.
Gilchrist said a $5,000 town grant would enable him to get the project started and carry it over the next six to 10 months.
Council members asked him to put together a package with a proposal and more information.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
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