By RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff Sep 07 2007 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
Regional funding of historic O’Keefe Ranch has been abandoned. The North Okanagan Regional District board launched a process Wednesday to repeal bylaws that allowed O’Keefe Ranch to be funded as a function. “The number of participants is dwindling. It has not given the ranch a level of financial certainty,” said Jerry Oglow, NORD chairman. The function was launched in 2005 but since that time, Cherryville, rural Enderby, BX-Swan Lake and rural Lumby have opted out for various reasons. The remaining funding partners are Vernon, Coldstream, BX-Silver Star and Armstrong.
A staff report suggested that the viability of the service has been brought into question. Patrick Nicol, Vernon director, was disappointed with the situation. “This is the one thing I thought we could all buy into,” he said, citing the importance of the ranch to the region. Officials with O’Keefe Ranch are pleased with the change. “We are better off dealing with the city,” said president Rod Drennan. The city has owned the ranch for 30 years and while ownership was supposed to transfer to NORD, that never occurred. Drennan insists the ranch needs financial stability and with jurisdictions withdrawing from the regional function, that was difficult. “We have been more successful going to municipalities and electoral areas directly,” he said. Some jurisdictions provide monetary grants to the ranch outside of the regional function. While NORD will no longer officially fund O’Keefe Ranch, Oglow is confident that each individual jurisdiction will do its part. “I am sure the region will continue to support the ranch in other ways,” he said. “We need to support the ranch in any way we can. It benefits all of us.”
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