Politicians prepare to tackle governance head on

By richard rolke Morning Star StaffJan 03 2007 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
A major gathering of politicians Thursday hopes to resolve any outstanding issues over Greater Vernon governance. There will be a joint meeting of Vernon and Coldstream councils at 8 a.m. at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre, as well as the electoral area directors for BX-Swan Lake and BX-Silver Star. “I hope both councils will have a good discussion and reach some consensus on Greater Vernon,” said Wayne Lippert, Vernon’s mayor. Governance has dominated political debate since the North Okanagan Regional District board removed delegated authority from the Greater Vernon Services Commission last month. It is now a committee that can only make recommendations to NORD. But there’s been some concern that NORD won’t follow GVSC recommendations. There’s also questions as to what issues have to be sent to the regional district for approval or if the committee can handle some matters. “We’ve got some differences of opinion on the structure,” said Gary Corner, Coldstream mayor and GVSC chairman. Corner wants consistency between the two boards when it comes to decision making as a way of creating efficiencies. “My push will be that the same six (directors) at GVSC are the same six sitting at NORD,” he said. “I could care less about authority (being removed) as long as the decisions of GVSC are passed at NORD by the same group.” Corner also wants assurances that Greater Vernon issues are only voted on by elected officials from that area and not politicians from outside of Greater Vernon, such as Armstrong, Enderby and Lumby. Stan Field, BX-Silver Star director, plans on attending the meeting. “There’s probably some details that need to be worked out in terms of the committee structure,” he said. Also representing NORD will be chairman Jerry Oglow. “I want to see if we can find some common ground,” said Oglow of concerns coming out of Vernon and Coldstream councils. “They need to hear the message about what GVSC will look like. It (removal of authority) is not the end of the world.” Oglow believes a resolution is vital. “I don’t want them or myself to spend more time on internal workings. We need to focus on the important issues facing the region.”