The city of Vernon will discuss buying the former West Vernon school site, and using it for parks and community use. City council has approved holding talks with the Vernon school district about the property, in the next two weeks. Councillor Juliette Cunningham, a former school board trustee and chair, says the city may be able to get a better deal than what the district had been seeking. "The school district initially talked about $5 million but that was with the maximum zoning potential, but really the city controls the zoning and without the zoning it's not worth as much as perhaps they think it is." Cunningham feels it's important to keep the site under local government control. "We may need that for a school in the future because we're looking at densification of the (downtown) core and attracting families to love downtown." Greater Vernon Services and the Community Living Association are interested in partnering with the city to purchase the site.The school closed down last June due to low enrolment.
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