Economic Development to become NORD Function?

The Nord meeting this afternoon was highlighted by a presentation from the O'Keefe range that was both professional and interesting to boot. The group was selling the Ranch as a viable tourist attraction that would bring lasting benefit to Nord who was taking over the function from the City of Vernon. The monies required from the taxpayer in the future to continue the necessary improvements and to capture more leverage dollars from other levels of government and the private sector was talked about but the presentation was more of an inventory of assets and the improvements that had already been accomplished over last 3 years. A financial plan presentation was scheduled for December and a new volunteer Bernie Fehrhmann would be in charge of the number crunching.

Spallumcheen Mayor Will Hansma made a presentation requesting that $1.5 million from the gas tax grant be used as upfront monies to provide the water and sewage infrastructure required to service land that would be designated as a Light Industrial Park in S.E. Spall near the old Bobslide business. This money would be paid back through DCC's and other fees from the developer. Reference was made to 400 Industrial Jobs that could be created by an party that had expressed an interest to the Economic Development Officer, Dave Forai. The Nord Board requested that staff come back with a report to more fully explore this request. Vernon Rep Pat Cochrane said that would be contrary to Vernon's policy of not providing sewer hookups etc. beyond City boundaries and would have to be closely examined by Vernon City Council.

Later in the meeting the Board passed the first three readings to establish a Regional Economic Development Service function in principle subject to the City of Vernon's concerns expressed during the debate being satisfied. Naturally this function had to be split from the GVSC tourist service function and then the Economic Dev. function removed from the GVSC. All resolutions were passed unanimously.

The concerns expressed by the City Reps. appeared to be the desire to make the function into a 10 year function rather than the 5 year originally proposed by the report and also an unanswered question that had been expressed incamera at Vernon City hall and would not be expressed out loud in front of the one media (Rolke) and one member of public. (Perhaps they went incamera after I left and explained this important concern.) The leaving of the tourist function at GVSC and the undetailed costs that could ensue and the lack of general financial details were other concerns expressed by Vernon Reps. but they accepted that they could be worked out at the staff level.

There was no talk of rolling the Vernon Airport into the Regional Economic Development function. (Unless this was the mysterious incamera item to be discussed !)