152 Riverside Dr. 250-276-2447 Just $ 14. 95 Festive Luncheon Buffet December 18th - 21st only Featuring Prime Rib & Turkey RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED PENTICTON | 171 Main Street, Penticton, British Columbia V2A 5A9 | | Phone 250.490.2400 | Fax 250.490.2402 | www.penticton.ca THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF PENTICTON LIBRARY SURVEY Help the library serve you better! Penticton Public Library is holding a community survey from Dec. 1 to 20. The survey takes about 5 minutes and is available online: https://www .sur veymonk ey .com/s/PentictonLibr ar ySur vey Don’t use the library? That’s ok, we want to hear from you too! Enter a draw for a chance to win one of three great prizes: $150 Downtown Dollars or $100 gift card from Cherry Lane Mall or $50 gift card from Cherry Lane Mall. Find out more at 250-770-7781. 2013 CHRISTMAS GARBAGE & RECYCLING SERVICE Garbage and Recycling pickup for Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013 will be picked up on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013. Garbage pickup for Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014 will be picked up on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. For more information please call 250-490-2500. Penticton Herald, Wednesday, December 18, 2013 A3 Council rejects proposal for business tax cut that would increase taxes for residential ratepayers By JOHN MOORHOUSE Penticton Herald A proposal to reduce business taxes while increasing residential taxes has been rejected by Penticton city council. The city’s fiscal review advisory committee had recommended that the tax rate for business and com- mercial properties be reduced from 1.67 times the residential tax rate to 1.5 over a five-year period. Colin Fisher, the city’s chief fi- nancial officer, told council Monday night the revenue-neutral proposal would shift $473,000 in city tax revenues onto the residen- tial sector over five years. This would result in a 2.5 per cent hike in residential taxes, while business taxes would drop by 7.8 per cent over that period. “In recent years, there has been some concern over the slumping economy and, in particular, the ad- ditional cost burdens borne by busi- nesses and commercial interests in Penticton,” he stated in a report. However, the idea of forcing res- idents to shoulder a heavier tax load didn’t sit well with the major- ity of council. Coun. Wes Hopkin noted Penticton al- ready offers one of the lowest business tax rates in the Okanagan. The city’s 1.67 multi- plier rate com- pares to 3.20 in Vernon, 2.24 in West Kelowna, 2.08 in Kelowna and 1.90 in Peachland. “We’re actually considerably less in terms of the onus we put on busi- nesses in the community,” he said. Hopkin said a straight 10 per cent tax cut for businesses would be a very aggressive move by the city and might still not generate signif- icant economic growth. “If you make the tax revenue neutral, all the money you would be saving for businesses you actu- ally take away from the consumers of that business,” he said. “I think it’s just a bit of a shell game. You’re not going to be generating much economic growth.” Coun. Helena Konanz was the lone council member to support the recommendation. Konanz said although she does- n’t want to place a heavier tax bur- den onto the backs of residents, the business community needs a help- ing hand. She noted larger businesses face huge increases in their electrical bills — up to $20,000 a month in some cases. “I’m hesitant about putting the load on our residents, but I don’t see us reducing the load off our lo- cal businesses in any other way,” she said. “I don’t see us promoting business as much as we could be.” The fiscal review committee had requested the tax rate issue be in- cluded in council’s budget deliber- ations. A final daylong budget ses- sion will be held today at City Hall. By ANDREA ANTHONY Special to the Herald G etting together for a good cup of coffee with family is the feeling of a new business in Okanagan Falls. Dogtown Coffee Co. opened in February 2012, and it has become a popular meeting place for residents of OK Falls and the South Okanagan. Owner Corrie Corfield, 33, had been interested in running her own coffee shop since doing a re- search project on Starbucks and Good Earth Coffee while in the business administration program at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary. “I was really taken by the idea that (a) coffee (shop) is not so much selling the coffee, but it’s a medium to create connections with people,” said Corfield. “I want to give my customers the very best product I possibly can, but it’s not because of my love for the product, it’s my love for the people. When you care about somebody and you’re in- vested in that relationship, you want to give the best to them.” After moving to OK Falls five years ago from Penticton with her husband to buy a house and raise their family, Corfield real- ized there was nowhere to go for a cup of coffee in town and decid- ed to do something about it. Corfield said it was a struggle to find a location for her shop, de- spite there being so many empty buildings in OK Falls, due to landowners not wanting renters and the price of rent. She does not feel that the poten- tial of OK Falls is being reached. “OK Falls has kind of a stigma that it’s just a place you go through, and nobody wants to stop and spend any time,” said Corfield. “People drive through OK Falls with blinders on.” Corfield said she hopes to be a catalyst for the community and show other people that Dogtown Coffee is a small business that is not only surviving but thriving. “My sales are up 85 per cent over year one, which I’m blown away by.” As for the name, Dogtown Coffee Co. comes from Dogtown being the original name of OK Falls. “It really speaks to the fact that we want to be a community place, and we’re all about OK Falls,” said Corfield, adding that no matter what changes come for the coffee shop in the future, it will always be about the commu- nity of OK Falls. “We’re always keeping our eyes open for what the next thing would be.” Corfield has been looking into options such as setting up a food truck near Penticton Secondary School. “I’m one of those people that (gets) on an idea and I stick with it until it either happens or dies,” said Corfield. Being a town in the Okanagan, the winter months are much slower for business than the summertime. This is one of the biggest struggles, said Corfield. However, despite many busi- nesses in OK Falls closing for the winter, Corfield said she has made it her priority to stay open year-round. “It’s kind of depressing to be here and have literally nothing to do (because) everything is closed,” said Corfield. Despite the slower pace, Corfield said she enjoys living in OK Falls because it is a good place to raise her family. “All the good things that you hear about small communities . . . that people rally together and help each other out is true in a place like this.” Corfield lives only three blocks from Dogtown Coffee with her husband and three children. Her kids are nine, six and four. Corfield’s family helps her a lot at the coffee shop. Currently, the only staff at Dogtown is Corfield herself, her chef Karl Mancheron and her husband, Chris, who owns his own business in Penticton. “It’s pretty much a family busi- ness in every sense of the word,” said Corfield, adding that her children are often there serving customers and wiping tables. Dogtown Coffee is located at 5121 Ninth Avenue in OK Falls. Its regular hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. At 2 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday, there is live acoustic music. Dogtown Coffee will be closed Dec. 23-30 for Christmas. Top 40 Under 40 is a Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce program, sponsored by Prospera Credit Union and White Kennedy LLP Chartered Accountants. Nominations should be sent to [email protected] with the subject line “Top 40 Nomination.” Include the nom- inee’s contact information and a brief reason for nomination. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of articles counting down the 10 biggest news stories in the South Okanagan for 2013 as selected by the Herald’s news staff. The series will run weekdays in the Herald. By Penticton Herald Staff Penticton’s 10th biggest news sto- ry of 2013 happened in Memphis, Tenn., but had a direct link to the South Okanagan. At Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, a tribute artist from Penticton took second place overall in the world at Ultimate Elvis. Adam Fitzpatrick had only been doing “the Elvis thing” for five years, and while he enjoyed re- markable popularity in his home- town, the rest of the world didn’t realize how good he was. “I don’t know what to think. It has- n’t hit me yet. It was just so amaz- ing,” Fitzpatrick said in a phone in- terview with the Herald the day af- ter his silver-medal performance. Ultimate Elvis, sanctioned by Elvis Presley International, is a tournament of champions, and participants must first win a sanc- tioned event in the same year. Fitzpatrick sang The Wonder of You and believes it was his best performance ever. News quickly travelled back to Penticton thanks to his many fans who followed him to Memphis and tweeted updates to his fans back home. Fitzpatrick won the trip to Memphis by taking top honours at the Penticton event. Attendance at the local festival was up dramati- cally from previous years, and fes- tival chairman Terry Michels said Fitzpatrick’s presence was a big part of its success. “What was interesting to see was the increase in a younger group of attendees,” Michels said, noting the women in the mob rushing the stage to grab scarves were as young as 25. Fitzpatrick, who bears a striking resemblance to the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, began his career when he took to the stage in Penticton on a dare from friends. That day, he went on to win the 2008 amateur crown, and with it came profes- sional status. Although he placed well at the many festivals, Fitzpatrick had won only once be- fore, taking top honours in San Diego in 2012 followed by a top-15 finish at Ultimate Elvis. He’s hoping the “second in the world” title will lead to larger ven- ues. He’s heading out in the new year on a 10-city tour of Western Canada, complete with a full band plus an opening act. Showing his appreciation for the support he’s received from locals, he will open the tour in Penticton on Jan. 25. 10 Even in the midst of Penticton city council’s final day of budget deliberations, Mayor Garry Litke has found time for his Brown Bag Lunch. The informal public discussion period with the may- or normally falls on the Wednesday following each reg- ular council meeting. Litke noted he received a number of complaints over the cancellation of the Dec. 4 ses- sion due to a budget meeting that day. Today’s hour-long Brown Bag Lunch begins at noon in City Hall council chambers, while the rest of coun- cil takes it own lunch break. — Penticton Herald JAMES MILLER/Penticton Herald Adam Fitzpatrick takes the microphone for his final song seconds after being declared the winner of the Penticton Pacific Northwest Elvis Festival. He later finished second at Ultimate Elvis. 2014 CITY BUDGET Business tax rate won’t be reduced ANDREA ANTHONY/Special to the Herald Corrie Corfield is the owner of Dogtown Coffee Co. in Okanagan Falls. TOP 40 UNDER 40 Connections matter to coffee shop owner TOP 10 NEWS STORIES OF THE YEAR City all shook up over tribute artist Hopkin Meet with mayor during lunch today