PENTICTON — The vehicles on the Penticton Kia dealership lot are constantly being covered with cement dust from a neighbouring business. David Newman, the dealership’s owner, says the situation is costing him tens of thousands of dollars to clean up.
“When things get windy, all the concrete ends up coming and landing on our vehicles,” says Newman.
The storm of dust happens whenever Burnco, a construction materials business, brings aggregate into the plant.
Newman says he must use a specialized cleaner to take the cement dust off the cars.
“Our daily operating costs have dramatically increased because we’ve had to wash these vehicles almost every day.”
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Now that winter is over, Burnco can turn on its sprinklers, reducing the amount of dust.
There is also a retaining wall separating the two businesses. But Newman believes the wall needs to be taller in order to fully address the situation.
A City of Penticton spokesperson says it may be possible to increase the height of Burnco’s retaining wall if council approves a variance request.
Global Okanagan contacted Burnco’s local supervisor but he didn’t want to discuss the issue.
Instead he referred us to the head office in Calgary and the Kelowna office.
The managers in those locations haven’t returned our email and repeated phone calls.
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