The City of sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 parade float is out of commission with repairs estimated to cost at least $100,000.听

There are no current plans to fix the float and staff did not present a repair plan for council to consider during preparations for this yearsa国际传媒 municipal budget.听

鈥淏ased on budget priorities, the decision was made at the divisional level not to advance this as a budget request,鈥 city staffer Jim Gabriel says.听

The estimated cost of $100,000 includes both repairs to the floatsa国际传媒 chassis, and an 鈥渙verhaul of the floatsa国际传媒 design鈥, Gabriel says.听

sa国际传媒 has maintained a parade float for decades, with the contraption a regular feature at parades across sa国际传媒, Alberta, and Washington State. Between June 15 and mid-July in 2013, the float had been in 14 parades and travelled more than 6,000 kilometres.听

Between 2011 and 2016, the float had travelled more than 42,000 kilometres, regularly winning best-of-entry prizes.听

As with other municipally-owned parade floats, sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 is designed to showcase the citysa国际传媒 attractions and encourage tourism. For more than 50 years, it featured various representations of Ogopogo. Some were goofy and cartoonish, others were menacing with fearsome fangs.听

But the city floated an ill-fated idea in 2016 to remove the legendary Okanagan Lake creature from the promotional vehicle.

鈥淩ather than do what has always been done鈥, staff said in a report to council, a new float proposed by staff would feature bicyclists, kayakers, and paddle boarders.听

Public backlash to the idea of stripping Ogopogo from the float was strong, and city councillors voted unanimously in April 2016 to direct staff to ensure Ogopogo would continue to be featured on the parade vehicle.听

鈥淭heresa国际传媒 just lots of love for Ogopogo,鈥 Coun. Luke Stack said at the time. Council authorized staff to spend $20,000 on a float facelift.

By the following summer, that rebuilt float had won first-place awards in five of the 12 parades in which it had been entered, including the Best Municipal Float prize at the Calgary Stampede Parade.听

鈥淲e should all be very, very proud of our little Ogopogo float,鈥 Coun. Maxine DeHart said in July 2017.

听

听