The Agricultural Advisory Committee will not be coming together after there wasn’t enough people who applied to be a part of the group.
The advisory committee required nine people to convene, per the terms of reference.
Its mandate would have been to provide feedback to council for matters relating to the Agricultural Land Commission Act, share insight on water supply and drainage issues and give feedback on the effectiveness of insect and weed control programs.
Shane Mills is the communications representative for Penticton and said that members of the committee were going to be chosen by council.
“All applications regarding the (Agricultural Advisory Committee) and other agriculture-related issues are decided by council, with full briefings from staff,” Mills said.
City council has been acting instead of the advisory committee since the summer of 2022.
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Mills also said that the city put notices out for applications on two separate occasions. The first time applications for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, the Accessibility Task Force and the Official Community Plan – Housing Task Force were also included in the advertisements.
“There were three notices in newspapers and one on the city’s Facebook page,” Mills said.
“A further two notices in newspapers and one additional posting was made on Facebook seeking just members for the agricultural committee.”
Despite the committee not convening, Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield said in a statement that the city’s agricultural needs are greatly important.
“Agriculture remains an important part of Penticton’s present and future,” Bloomfield said. “As issues come up, council will ensure decisions reflect our shared desire for a strong agricultural sector.”