A veteran politician believes the City of Vernon could learn some lessons from Saturday’s referendum results in Coldstream. Coun. Barry Beardsell believes the strong no vote against a sports complex in Coldstream indicates the city’s Jan. 26 referendum on a civic complex could face a rough ride. “I believe there is such a mood of anger towards the arrogance 
of politicians doing these things without explaining themselves,” he said. Vernon residents are being asked to approve borrowing up to $30 million over 25 years for construction of a civic building. Beardsell insists there is a need for more information to be provided to residents prior to the Jan. 26 vote.“Give the true facts instead of hints,” he said.
Among the information he claims is missing is whether Okanagan Regional Library will purchase the existing library site, whether city taxpayers will have to subsidize construction costs for a new library and details about green space and parking. Beardsell also says there should be details on “vague promises” to expand the museum in future. “They should put all of the true facts out there but it won’t help the cause because the cause is not defendable.”
Mayor Wayne Lippert agrees the process in Coldstream provides the city with some direction for its referendum.“We really need to get some clear information out,” he said.“With the referendum in Coldstream, the comment I heard was no one really understood what was proposed.”
Prior to Jan. 26, the city is planning some open houses as well as static displays at a number of locations.Artist’s drawings for the proposed complex are now posted on the city’s web site (www.vernon.ca).Financial information is also being added for the 
$32 million project.For a home assessed at $280,000 a year, a successful referendum would lead to an additional $40 in taxes a year.“That assumes ORL takes care of its $9 million and we get some revenue from the RCMP for offices and we rent out some space,” said Leon Gous, chief administrative officer. “As the community grows, that figure should go down.”
The complex is about 100,000-square-feet, including parking and common areas. There would be 29,000-square-feet for a library, 30,000 square-feet for offices and 11,000-square-feet possibly for an art gallery.Gous is aware of Beardsell’s concerns.“He raises many questions but many of them won’t be answered until we conclude an agreement with ORL,” said Gous.“It will be quite a complicated agreement with them.”
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Hopefully City of Vernon officials closely observed the outcome of the referendum in Coldstream. While there was substantial concern about building a sports complex on farm land, one of the biggest complaints from the public was the lack of information about the project, especially when it came to costs. In the end, a huge majority of Coldstream residents crushed the plan in its tracks, and unless the City of Vernon wants the same thing to happen with its civic complex, it better be proactive when it comes to public relations. Certainly a good start was posting architectural drawings on the city’s Web site, but not having cost details available at the same time was a mistake.There are also plans by the city to host open houses as a way of spreading the word about the civic complex prior to to the Jan. 26 referendum.
Obviously any attempt to answer the questions of individual voters is a positive one, and it’s something the Greater Vernon Services Committee should have done in Coldstream. Of course some residents will remain close-minded no matter how many open houses are held, but there’s little the city can do about that situation. Perhaps the biggest stumbling block is the city’s claim that some issues will remain unresolved until a referendum is successful and firm facility negotiations can occur with Okanagan Regional Library. That may be true, but it will only reinforce the view of some that the city doesn’t have its ducks in a row.In the end, the city has a month to inform the public and change tactics as required. If it is responsive instead of reactionary, the city may avoid the fiasco that occurred in Coldstream.
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