City’s demands ignored by NORD board

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: November 05, 2009 6:00 PM

A potentially explosive debate between Vernon and its partners fizzled. The city has recommended that the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee be scrapped, but when its letter went before the North Okanagan Regional District board Wednesday, it was simply received and filed. No official discussion took place at all. “We received it without action which means nothing happens,” said Doug Dirk, a Coldstream director, when asked why the letter was filed. “It’s dead unless they (city) bring it back.” Vernon had suggested that all water and parks and recreation matters be dealt with at the NORD table, but Dirk doesn’t believe that is realistic. “We don’t want to deal with it at the board. It’s too big and complex,” he said of the parks and water functions. While city council’s policy calls for GVAC to be disbanded, none of Vernon’s NORD representatives stated their case Wednesday. “You have to pick your battles,” said director Jack Gilroy, who doesn’t believe the other partners are willing to consider any alternatives to governance.

City officials have been upset since the regional district board overturned a GVAC decision on a proposed sedimentation pond at BX Ranch Park in August. “I don’t think it works properly,” said Gilroy of GVAC, adding that it has no authority. Director Wayne Lippert insists there was no reason for the city representatives to force a debate because NORD staff are already looking at GVAC’s structure. “The letter came to the board for information,” he said. “All the (city) motion did was to reconfirm council’s position that we support the disbanding of GVAC. There was no need to talk about it again.”

-----------

Editorial Morning Star: Vernon officials crying wolf Published: November 05, 2009 6:00 PM

City of Vernon officials have been going on and on for weeks that the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee is broken and needs to be scrapped. But when it actually came time for those same officials to present their case to the North Okanagan Regional District, they didn’t utter a word. Instead, they sat on their hands, except for when they actually voted to receive and file the city’s formal request, which is essentially the bureaucratic burial ground. When asked about this approach, director Jack Gilroy stated, “You have to pick your battles.” But wasn’t this the city’s battle? Wasn’t it Vernon who claimed GVAC was redundant and formally protested to NORD? If not now, when? Director Wayne Lippert says any discussion Wednesday would have been irrelevant because the regional district is already reviewing governance structure and the city’s request only reconfirmed a position that council has had for some time. “There was no need to talk about it again,” he said. But there was a need to talk about it again because GVAC plays a role in water and parks and recreation, two costly functions that significantly impact the lives of Greater Vernon residents. How the committee functions, or doesn’t function, has implications for the provision of service. And by not standing up for themselves, city officials have sent the message to their partners that any demands for eliminating GVAC are hollow. Why should the rest of them care, if Vernon doesn’t? Vernon had an opportunity to move the issue ahead, but instead it came off looking like the little boy who cried wolf.