2024 02 17 Update
2024 02 08 Board Meeting - Mr. Lachmuth, Director Okanagan Shuswap with MoTI, confirmed that this project is 90% designed and should be 100% designed by the end of March 2024. Our local MoTI district is waiting for provincial funding confirmation but has put this project forward as the top priority for the District’s Minor Betterment Program. Funding is to be confirmed in April 2024.
Watch on YouTube at 2:10:40
2022 09 01 Update
This is a MoTI study to advocate for improvment funding for the culvert in Sage Mesa. Hoping that the community and the RDOS can learn the study results in Q4 2022.
As you most likely already know, the gully and stormwater management falls under the Ministry of Transportation Infrastructure (MoTI).
About a month ago, I met with AIM (the company that maintains roadways on behalf of MoTI) at the site of the Sage Mesa culvert drainage just north of Solana Cres. A few weeks after, I met with MoTI's general manager (Jeff Wiseman) for the South Okanagan Similkameen also at the site.
MoTI agrees that the situation requires attention and should be a priority. The first step will be fencing the gully off. There is a public risk without signage or fencing. That should happen in the next few months through AIM. Mr. Wiseman has also requested that the Ministry's Program Manager schedule a hydrologic study at the site so they can develop a plan to address the drainage issues. He is hoping that this request is part of MoTI's 2021's work plan.
I am pleased with MoTI's commitment to immediate action and plan to undertake further investigation in 2021. MoTI comes to the Board each quarter, so I will do my best to keep this top of mind and update the community whenever I get new information.
Thank you to everyone who has shared photos. Below are are a few.
Update - June 8 - after posting this blog, I received an email from a resident sharing concerns about pooling storm water at the north end of Sage Mesa Drive. I've asked MoTI to include that concern in their request for programming in 202. MoTI has included the request. We wait to hear back from the Program Manager.
Update - July 18 - Erik Lachmuth, Acting District Transportation Manager, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure attended our July 16 Board Meeting. I submitted the following:
Firstly, I’d like to thank Jeff Wiseman, Chris Keir (MoTI) and Rick (AIM). All three have been great to work with over the past few months. They have made time to meet with me and some of Area F’s residents. They have all provided great insights, feedback and (most importantly) solutions. My question is, could you please confirm that the Sage Mesa storm water culvert system is on the District’s Minor Betterment Program for consideration in the the coming year’s program? And, if so, when can we expect to hear a proposed timeline for the start of the program? Mr Lachmuth said that we should know in about two to three weeks. I will follow up end of August.
Oct. 27 2020, we are awaiting for the election to be official over before Mr. Lachmuth can comment.
Nov. 17, 2020 Erik Lachmuth wrote, "I can confirm we have put forward in our plans to allocate funds for engineering and design next fiscal and the allocation of funds for construction the following fiscal year. Our budgets are loaded in April each year so we can't confirm the funds are in place until that time but it is in our budget request."
