Teamwork could minimize conflicts at a popular Vernon beach.
Kin Beach was top of the agenda when the Okanagan Indian Band council met with its Vernon counterparts Wednesday.
“We want to make sure the area is safe,” said Chief Byron Louis, of the portion of beach on Lakeshore Road that is reserve from Tronson Road to Vernon Creek.
“People bring boats right on to the beach and that’s not done anywhere else. There are children playing around there.”
Another ongoing issue is dogs running around and doing their business there.
“We need to remind people to keep dogs off of the because there are people around there,” said Louis.
City bylaws do not apply on reserve land, but that could change once an agreement is in place.
“They are willing to work with us and we could put out more garbage cans and signs up about dogs,” said Akbal Mund, Vernon mayor.
Louis admits that one of the challenges for the band to oversee the beach is its distance from the band office on Westside Road.
“It doesn’t make sense for us to send a truck over to pick up garbage,” he said.
A number of other issues were also discussed by the two councils.
“The band wants to work with the city on economic development and growth,” said Mund, pointing to tourism and industrial lands.
Both the OKIB and the city have separate proposals to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for the Community Economic Development Initiative that are under review.
“We expect to continue collaborating on initiatives for the greater good of both communities,” said Louis.