A proposed expansion of the North Okanagan Regional District office isn’t going over well at Vernon city hall.Some politicians are questioning the need to add on to the NORD office when regional governance is currently under review.“There are huge issues surrounding Greater Vernon including water and parks and recreation,” said Coun. Pat Cochrane.“Why worry about accommodating that when it may not exist a year from now?”The NORD board recently gave authority to staff to have preliminary architectural drawings prepared for an expansion to the corporate office.The primary goal is to centralize all NORD activities, including the Greater Vernon Services Committee, at the Aberdeen Road site in Coldstream.
Regional district officials have stated in past that any possible changes to Greater
Vernon governance won’t eliminate the need for NORD to provide services to the public.And Mayor Wayne Lippert reinforced that view from NORD, saying that the city has previously stated that it supports the ongoing activities of Greater Vernon Services. 
Coun. Barry Beardsell is upset that NORD’s decision to commission architectural designs wasn’t considered a financial matter. “It shows how big issues are being handled by NORD and they are not responsive to the City of Vernon,” he said.NORD currently has 12,000-square-feet at its Aberdeen Road office, it leases 5,000-square-feet for GVSC in downtown Vernon and it has files stored at three other locations. Current office space requirements total 20,000-square-feet, accommodating all 61 full-time staff, 10 seasonal workers and all files. It’s believed 20,000-square-feet would meet the needs of the regional district for the next 10 to 15 years. Construction could possibly begin in the spring, with the work completed by the fall of 2008.
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