At the Council meeting last night, Coun. Pearce proposed a motion to withdraw Penticton sites from the prison bidding process, but added a section to the effect that Council will provide a letter of support to applicants outside Penticton if they can show that it will be of significant economic benefit to Penticton. Other South Okanagan sites include Penticton Indian Band land, Osoyoos Indian Band land near Oliver, and Summerland sites.
That was not the result we hoped for. Penticton has the region's only courthouse and is the largest urban centre in the RDOS. We also have the airport, hospital, and the largest downtown. There will be issues, as Mayor Dan Ashton acknowledged last night (though extra policing costs was the only one cited).
We heard from Corrections BC at the March 8 publlic meeting that remanded prisoners, if released, will be set free at the courthouse. No projections were ever stated about the numbers. However, this will be BC's biggest provincial jail at 720 inmates with 52% remanded prisoners.
