City of Kelowna News Release
With the decision in today’s referendum by the residents of the Westside to opt for incorporation of a new, Westside municipality, the City of Kelowna looks forward to working with the new municipality on common issues at the regional table as we do with all our Regional District partners. “We wish our neighbours on the west side of the Lake all the best in their new and exciting endeavor,” says Mayor Sharon Shepherd.
Charmaine de Silva - Standard Radio News Sun FM
Voters from the Westside Governance Boundary area have chosen to create a new municipality. By a narrow margin, 51-percent of voters chose incorporation in Saturday's highly-debated Westside governance referendum. With a voter turnout of nearly 49 percent, 5 polling stations were busy all day long. John Harding from the Westside Incorporation Team says that although he is celebrating with supporters, its time to move forward and look towards working with the City of Kelowna. 48-percent of voters did want the Westside to join the City of Kelowna. Results from individual polling stations show voters from Glenrosa and George Pringle were hugely in support of incorporation, and voters in Mount Boucherie and Rose Valley wanted amalgamation.
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Westsiders choose incorporation http://www.dailycourier.ca/stories.php?id=49298 By Dorothy Brotherton Sunday, June 17, 2007
Westsiders woke up this morning to find themselves living in a soon-to-be new city. In a squeaker referendum Saturday, voters favoured incorporation over joining Kelowna by a slim margin – 5,924 votes to 5,582. Only 342 votes separated the two positions in the unofficial results. The referendum was the first step in a new form of governance. It becomes official in November with the election of a Westside mayor and council. It will become legal Dec. 3, when the province implements a letters patent. A $25-million transition grant from Victoria is ready to kick in. John Harding, who led the incorporation drive, said he was “ecstatic” after hearing news of the results. “Now the real work begins,” he said. “Let‘s get our city started.” Harding expressed surprise the voter turnout was less than 50 per cent – about 48 per cent. “But both sides had good points,” he said. “Now we have to respect the voters. They educated themselves and made their decision.” Ian Graham, who led the drive for amalgamation, admitted he was disappointed, saying his group worked hard. “But I‘m calling for a name for the new city – not Fort Defiance, but Unification City,” said Graham. Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd echoed that sentiment, saying, “We will work with our new neighbour.” The vote culminates a four-year governance study by a committee headed by Doug Findlater, who said, “The Westside needs different tools – those that come with municipal status – to overcome the limitations of our current status.” The Westside has been governed as a rural area under the Central Okanagan Regional District since regional districts were formed in the 1970s. Three previous attempts to form a Westside municipality fell short. In 1974, a group looked at incorporation, but didn‘t go to referendum. In a 1980 referendum, voters opposed incorporation by 87 per cent. In 1994, a Westbank-only incorporation referendum was defeated by 66 per cent. The two Westside areas were joined into one regional district area in 2001, setting the stage for Saturday‘s referendum.
The next steps on the way to becoming a new city begin with the appointment of an interim administrator and setting up contract staff in temporary office space. Ron Drennan, referendum process manager, said things will start happening by mid-August. The new city will need a name. Findlater pushed the governance committee to set up a structure for name selection before it disbanded in April. The transition team will form a community committee to get public input and bring a short list of names. Aaron Dinwoodie, a Westside CORD director, didn‘t quite get what he wanted in the vote. “My vision was a regional municipality that would let go of control and allow satellite offices to handle local issues. But I‘ve always taken direction from the electorate. My heart will always be with the Westside,” said Dinwoodie. Len Novakowski, also a Westside CORD director, said the incorporation win left him feeling “absolutely great.” “It‘s a milestone,” he said. “The message I got is that the grassroots want an identity and a community we can look after ourselves.”
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