Cheong puts water, municipal corporation and tourism fees at centre of council platform

Incumbent councillor proposes a hybrid water-treatment system, paid visitor parking and a surcharge on tourism accommodations

The incumbent councillor lays out his plans in a 13-page campaign document released under the banner “Osoyoos Stronger Together.”

Cheong has lived in Osoyoos for nine years and describes himself as a health-care practitioner, small-business owner and active volunteer. He is seeking a second term after serving four years on council.

He credits the current council with changing the Town’s budget structure, establishing funding to maintain municipal assets, advancing water-treatment planning and securing more than $9 million in infrastructure grants.

Cheong also says his meetings with provincial ministers helped make the case for that funding. His presentations included photographs of his daughter’s discoloured bath water, along with images and videos supplied by residents.

Water remains first priority

Cheong gives water a blunt heading in his platform: “Water, water, water.”

He says Osoyoos began the current council term with limited information about its water system, inadequate asset records, little sustainability funding and few conservation measures.

The Town has since completed its 2023 Water Master Plan, source-water and treatment studies, lake-water testing and a pilot treatment program. Cheong argues that the time spent gathering information was necessary because engineers needed to account for seasonal changes in water quality.

He also says council followed through on those studies instead of allowing them to “gather dust.”

Water conservation and metering now figure heavily in his proposed treatment strategy. Cheong says consumption has fallen since the metering project began, which could allow Osoyoos to build a smaller initial treatment plant.

His platform proposes treating groundwater through a smaller, lower-cost plant, then increasing the use of lake water as the population grows. The system would be built in phases and designed to accept future technology.

Cheong says the Town remains on track for a targeted 2029 opening.

That proposal differs in emphasis from the Town’s current public description of the project. The Town’s water-treatment information page says the completed pilot program confirmed Osoyoos Lake as a reliable long-term source. It says the next phase will refine a surface-water treatment design, cost estimates, funding plans, water licensing and intake infrastructure.

Cheong also proposes testing treatment equipment on Wells 4 and 5, which he identifies as having the highest manganese levels. He wants the pilot equipment designed so it could later become part of the permanent plant, potentially improving water quality before full construction is complete.

His conservation proposals include replacing grass with clover or yarrow where practical. He says those plants would require less water and maintenance while preserving green spaces.

Cheong would also use live meter information to identify excessive consumption rather than relying mainly on bylaw patrols to enforce watering restrictions.

Municipal development corporation proposed

The second major plank in Cheong’s platform is the creation of a municipal development corporation.

Such a corporation would operate separately from the Town’s regular administration, with its own board made up of council members, municipal employees and residents with experience related to its projects.

Cheong argues that a corporation could borrow money, attract private investment and enter public-private partnerships without requiring every expenditure to move through the regular municipal budget process.

He also says it could hire and award contracts more quickly than the Town.

“By creating our own Municipal Development Corporation, we take matters into our own hands,” Cheong writes. “We save taxpayer dollars. Our project timelines are faster. Our funding sources are more diverse.”

He points to the Creston Valley Housing Corporation as a model he learned about through discussions with Creston’s chief administrative officer.

Cheong claims Osoyoos could save 15 per cent on general-contractor markups by managing projects through its own corporation. His platform does not include a startup budget, proposed staffing level, legal analysis or implementation schedule for the corporation.

Several possible projects are identified.

One is a multi-purpose facility at Desert Park, modelled in part on Kamloops’ Tournament Capital facilities. Cheong suggests bringing several organizations together in one development, potentially including Desert Sun Counselling, the Osoyoos Child Care Centre, the Arts Council, the RCMP, Harness Racing BC and indoor or outdoor pickleball facilities.

Combining several uses, he argues, could open access to more grant programs and partnership funding.

He also wants the corporation to examine construction of a four-season public washroom. Cheong believes estimates obtained through conventional municipal procurement are too high and says local builders could complete the work for less.

Housing and virtual medical clinic

Another concept combines rental housing, employee accommodation and health-care access in one four-storey building.

Cheong envisions a virtual walk-in clinic on the ground floor, staff housing on the second floor and rental homes on the upper two floors.

The virtual clinic would provide private rooms equipped with computers and cameras, allowing residents without family doctors to connect with telehealth providers. Cheong says the space could be designed for eventual conversion into an in-person clinic.

He links the housing component to employee shortages reported by local businesses. Under his proposal, the Town or development corporation would work with employers to identify housing needs and establish long-term cost-recovery agreements.

The document does not identify a site, construction cost, number of housing units or potential health-care operator.

Paid parking for visitors

Cheong’s third priority is collecting more revenue from tourism without charging local residents.

He proposes paid parking using a QR-code system operated by a Canadian company. Property owners in Osoyoos and surrounding areas would be allowed to register licence plates for free parking.

Enforcement would use automated licence-plate readers mounted on existing bylaw vehicles. Cheong says the information would be stored in Canada, retained only for a limited period and handled in accordance with privacy law.

He cites Tofino, which he says collected $663,073 in net parking revenue during 2025.

Cheong would place Osoyoos parking revenue in a Community Enhancement Fund. Public input would help determine which recreation projects, public improvements and local-business initiatives received money.

His platform does not propose parking rates, identify which streets or public lots would be included, or estimate how much the system could raise in Osoyoos.

Separate water rates for tourism properties

Cheong also proposes a separate metered-water rate for properties providing visitor accommodation.

“You pay for what you use. Full stop,” he writes while discussing residential water billing.

He argues, however, that tourism properties place additional seasonal pressure on the system. According to his platform, water consumption begins rising in April, peaks in July and returns to its usual level in November. Demand during early-morning irrigation hours can exceed well production during the busiest summer period.

Cheong proposes comparing the consumption of tourism accommodations with that of an average Osoyoos household. The Town would then consult affected property owners before establishing a water-use surcharge.

The accommodation operator could pass that charge on to visitors. Money collected would go into a Water Infrastructure Sustainability Fund.

No proposed rate or projected annual revenue is included in the platform.

Cheong closes the document by describing the election as a turning point for Osoyoos and says he wants the community to “prosper, grow and thrive.”

The full platform is available through the Osoyoos Stronger Together campaign website.