Directors lose focus

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - March 19, 2008

The directors for BX-Swan Lake and BX-Silver Star are adamant that status quo should be maintained when it comes to governance. But it’s likely that their own actions are forcing some residents to consider a change. Case in point was last week’s Greater Vernon Services Committee meeting where Cliff Kanester and Stan Field questioned GVSC participating in a citizens committee on expanded cultural facilities. Field went as far as trying to have the topic not added to the agenda by the City of Vernon. “They don’t fit into the scope of GVSC,” he said. But if the art gallery and museum don’t fit into the scope of GVSC, what does? Both functions, while operated by independent societies, receive direct operating funds from taxpayers through GVSC and they have for decades if you include the old era of the Greater Vernon Parks and Recreation District. The item was added to the agenda, but that didn’t stop Kanester and Field from trying to send the matter sideways.

“They are part of the mandate, but they can’t be expanded without everyone being on side,” said Kanester. So does that mean that the museum and art gallery must remain the same size forever? Must valuable community services continue to stagnate although public demand is growing? If Kanester’s argument is correct, the art gallery should still be crammed into a tiny space above the museum. Instead, it has moved into larger venues twice since the early 1990s. Field also questioned the motives of the city which has proposed the citizens committee on cultural amenities. “The city is trying to make amends to the public for all of their screw-ups on how the cultural complex was brought forward,” he said. And it’s hard to argue with that. The city took a top-down approach when it proposed a civic complex earlier this year. Instead of embracing direct public involvement, it drafted the designs and only went to residents to get the necessary cash. As we all know, the proposal failed, partly because the public was kept on the outside but also because there was no deal with GVSC to fund expanded space.

But no matter the city’s motives, there is nothing wrong with asking the public to participate in something that impacts them directly. Field and Kanester’s constituents use the museum and art gallery as much as those from Vernon and Coldstream, and they pay for them too. Why shouldn’t they be part of a process that determines the long-term needs of the agencies? Field appears to fear the city dominating the citizens committee and any final outcome. But that prospect can be avoided if GVSC establishes the committee itself and appoints individuals to it.
The city appears willing to let GVSC take charge and it makes sense since the museum and art gallery are GVSC responsibilities. Yes, the city also wants to look at other issues such as additional space for city hall and the RCMP, but that can be a separate but parallel process to anything GVSC does. In the end, there appears to be no reason for Kanester and Field to fight a citizens committee other than it was the city’s idea. And that may leave some residents wondering if the two directors are truly representing their interests, and if the personality conflicts are just a sign of governance gone wrong.