Who's hot, who's not on Vernon council ! Bulldog UBCM Bound ??

http://www.dailycourier.ca/ – Editorial Wed. June 13

-managing editor Scott Neufeld

After a long stay on the cold list Coun. Buffy Baumbrough finds herself on the hot list for stepping up in Coun. Juliette Cunningham’s absence. Baumbrough was far more talkative Monday than at most meetings, expressing her opinions and generally picking up the slack. We’ll have to wait for the next meeting to see whether this is a trend or merely a blip.

Coun. Jack Gilroy earns another cold rating as he stayed silent throughout the entire council meeting. It’s no easy task to not speak for more than three hours but Gilroy manages to do it on a regular basis. However, Gilroy and Coun. Barry Beardsell earn approval for colour-co-ordinating their blue shirts at the meeting.

Speaking of Beardsell, he’s on the hot list this week for proposing to push the issue of hospital funding to the next Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting. Often a critic of the group, Beardsell appears to have found a good avenue to raise the contentious issue. Beardsell should consider attending the gathering to really drive the issue home.

Also on the hot list this week is Mayor Wayne Lippert who continues to impress with his ability to direct meetings and keep them moving at a steady pace. In particular he cut off two homeless activists who tried to cause another disturbance at council. He stopped them short saying that
there are proper avenues to address council and this isn’t one of them. But if these activists do try other avenues council needs to be more helpful than they have been.

Coun. Pat Cochrane is on the cold list this week for being one of the main proponents of giving the O’Keefe Ranch more money. Although the ranch desperately needs the money for repairs, council was not critical enough of the ranch’s finances. There are too many unanswered questions. Add to that the fact that they are running a deficit this year mainly because they didn’t stick to their budget. Council and Cochrane should have taken that into consideration when handing over the funds.

Landing on the hot list this week is Coun. Patrick Nicol who brought up a hot topic at the meeting. In discussing a development variance request for an Okanagan Lake project, Nicol wondered if every homeowner would be seeking a variance. The city has received a steady volume of requests from owners who want to build closer to the lake than bylaws allow. Too often the city approves these requests. However, what needs to be taken into account is the overall benefit to the community. How does it benefit Vernon as a whole if home after home is
built too close to the lake. Council and city staff need to take a tougher stand to ensure that development regulations are adhered to and not bent or broken.
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