The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen will be hitting the road twice a month with a pop-up office.
The venture builds on the recent board meeting held in the Town of Princeton, instead of at the RDOS' regular boardroom in Penticton.
"I think that was very successful and in trying to put the region in regional district, I would like to continue having board meetings in different areas," said CAO Jim Zaffino at the RDOS' June 17 board meeting.
Another on-the-road board meeting is currently being planned for September, although the exact details are still being finalized.
Beyond the board meeting is a different initiative that was spun out of the success of the Princeton meeting: a pop-up RDOS office.
"The idea is that it would start with the municipal offices, so we would be looking at the municipalities in the region and setting up something that would get people's eyes," said Erick Thomspon, communications manager for the RDOS. "The idea really is just to bring the regional district to those communities, and it would be for municipal residents, when we're focusing on regional services, but also for rural residents."
The goal would be to provide access for residents across the region instead of forcing them to drive all the way to Penticton and the main RDOS office.
The process is still in the early stages, with the RDOS currently contacting the various municipalities to see if they would be willing to host the RDOS's pop-up office and when would work best.
The goal is to start holding the pop-up offices also in September and to expand to adding sessions outside of municipalities such as at Apex or Missezula Lake.
Thompson told the board that many times staff hold events out in the community they hear things from residents in person that they don't hear from other sources such as over the phone or on the RDOS' Regional Connections website.
That website is also currently being planned to undergo an upgrade that will integrate it alongside the RDOS's emergency operations centre into the main RDOS website to bring every source of information into one umbrella.
