By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - July 08, 2008
Some Vernon politicians are suggesting failed plans for a civic complex could be back on the agenda. Council will hold a special meeting Friday at 9 a.m. to discuss the lack of space for city hall staff and the RCMP and how to address the situation long-term. “Something has to be done. We have no room for staff,” said Coun. Jack Gilroy. The space crunch arose after a majority of voters shot down borrowing up to $30 million in January for a three-story civic complex between city hall and the library. Gilroy hasn’t given up on the proposal which included space for city staff, the library and art gallery. “It was a great plan and it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if it came back,” said Gilroy, adding the city owns the land. That is also the view of Coun. Juliette Cunningham. “There is still the potential to do something there. It’s a good piece of property,” she said. Gilroy admits, though, that resurrecting the previous civic complex plans would require informing the public and ensuring that residents fully support the concept. “It won’t be this council making that decision,” he said, referring to the civic election to be held in November.
In June, council agreed to lease commercial space throughout downtown to alleviate conditions at city hall and the RCMP detachment on a short- to medium-term basis. “We do have to look at long-term accommodations because the measures we are taking are interim,” said Cunningham. Besides the civic complex plan, Cunningham says another possible option is the publicly owned Coldstream Hotel site. Friday’s meeting is being held at the request of Coun. Barry Beardsell, who opposed the borrowing referendum in January. “The public deserves to hear what the politicians want instead of trying to push something down the public’s throat,” he said. “It (discussion) is very critical after a failed referendum. The public has expressed its concerns.” While expanded office space may be a sign of a growing bureaucracy, Gilroy admits that every additional employee hired at city hall or at the RCMP is necessary. “The city is 38,000 people and growing. That brings more demand for services,” he said, adding that the rented office space will only meet the city’s needs for five years.
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Morning Star Editorial July 8
Civic space can't be ignored
Vernon council could be treading into dangerous territory Friday, but there's no avoiding the situation. A special meeting will be held Friday to discuss the long-term space requirements for staff at city hall and the adjacent RCMP detachment. It's dangerous territory because the mayor and five councillors seriously had their hands slapped by the public during a January referendum. A majority of voters rejected the borrowing of $30 million for a civic complex, while a previous counter-petition had also highlighted strong opposition to the process. It would be easy for the politicians to abandon the issue altogether, but that would not serve the interests of the community. The public demands a variety of services from city hall and the RCMP, and that requires staff, which leads to the need for desks and affiliated support systems. There is no escaping the bureaucracy, especially as the community continues to grow. However, let's hope that council has learned an important lesson over the last few months, and that is that the public wants to be directly involved in a process that impacts them, especially financially. Any move towards new facilities — especially if it includes a library and art gallery — must involve rank-and-file citizens right from the beginning of the planning stage. It is not good enough for city hall to draft a design and simply ask the electorate to approve funding of it during a referendum. The reality, though, is that time is running out for this council, with the civic election set for November. But that said, the current group of politicians can set the tone for the next council to follow.
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