The chairman of the Greater Vernon Services Committee is under fire for ignoring the wishes of two colleagues. Directors Cliff Kanester and Stan Field are upset that Gary Corner held a meeting on the proposed arts and cultural master plan last Thursday despite the fact they wrote Corner May 8 asking that the meeting be postponed. “Gary chose to ignore it,” said Field of the request. The meeting was shortlived as Field and Kanester refused to discuss the master plan until an efficiency review is done on the parks, recreation and culture function. Several cultural groups were in the audience, and they left wondering if GVSC takes their needs seriously. Kanester holds Corner responsible for that situation. “The chairman called all those people there knowing we weren’t in favour of it going ahead,” he said. Corner defends his actions. “I felt we could still sit down at the meeting and discuss the issues and not make any decisions. But they didn’t want to do that,” he said of Kanester and Field. “I thought some of their concerns may come out at the meeting.” That view is shared by director Barry Beardsell. “We could have proceeded and discussed all the matters pertaining to arts and culture,” he said. The master plan won’t be considered now until a review is done of the parks, recreation and culture function. There is no timeline for that process. Kanester and Field also claim the master plan includes items that don’t fit within the mandate of GVSC, including expanded facilities for cultural agencies. “We want to wait until the service review is done before considering anything new,” said Field. But Beardsell accuses Kanester and Field of “playing games.” “That meeting was disgusting and their conclusions were ridiculous,” he said. Director Wayne Lippert wants to bring Kanester, Field and Corner together to discuss the matter.
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