Taxpayers seek more info on Hesperia

Pete McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM

The Vernon Taxpayers Association is concerned about what it calls the secretive nature of a city-owned corporation. Brent Applegath from the group made a presentation to city council Monday, seeking more information on the Hesperia Corporation. Applegath told the media, "Where did this corporation come from? It's owned by the city. We have absolutely no information as taxpayers or as citizens what the nature of it is. The only thing we were given was a glossy document with fluff in it about 125 attainable units of housing out of a thousand that are being built." Applegath presented a list of 11 demands for information including if the new development will be sustainable, and where the water will come from. "And if it comes from Kal Lake or Okanagan Lake, it's still a drain on our source of water and just looking around the valley, especially in the Landing area, there's developments like the Rise going up all over the place, and it seems to fly in the face of wanting to stand back, maybe (placing) a moratorium on development, and have a look at what's going on." The city created the corporation earlier this year to purchase 69 acres above Apollo Road and Okanagan Avenue in the Landing, to be used for attainable housing.