Referendum on track for civic complex

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - November 11, 2007

There appears to be no stopping a referendum over a proposed civic complex in Vernon. Council will consider giving three readings Tuesday to a bylaw that would allow up to $30 million to be borrowed over 25 years for construction of a civic building.“Council still wants to move the project forward,” said Mayor Wayne Lippert. Lippert added that the borrowing bylaw must go before council now so a referendum can be held Jan. 26. But he points out that final adoption of the bylaw would only proceed if a majority of voters supported borrowing. The Vernon Taxpayers Association has called for the referendum to be cancelled so the project can be reviewed, but Lippert says that’s financially unrealistic.

“A referendum will cost between $30,000 and $40,000 to run and if we wait to have a referendum until November (civic election), there could be $1.2 million in rising construction costs,” he said. The city could possibly only borrow $20 million if Okanagan Regional Library decides to own its space in the building and provides $9 million for construction. But $30 million would be needed if ORL opts to lease the space from the city. “The amount borrowed will hinge on the final numbers and what ORL’s contribution is,” said Lippert. Despite Lippert’s comments, the Vernon Taxpayers Association remains opposed to the project.

“They want a confrontation so we will go out and fight this referendum,” said spokesman Tony Stamboulieh. Stamboulieh accuses the city of making land use decisions in isolation. “We respect the process of the official community plan review and it needs to be completed first,” he said. The Vernon Public Art Gallery has recently expressed concern that the proposed complex would not provide sufficient space for its needs, while the Greater Vernon Museum has accused the city of not considering its space requirements. “We have already had a preliminary talk with the art gallery and there is some clarity now. There was some misunderstanding on the numbers,” said Lippert. The city hopes the existing museum can ultimately be expanded.“The intent is to talk to the museum again so they know they aren’t left out of the equation,” said Lippert.