Parks discussions prove costly

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: November 13, 2010 12:00 PM
Bills are piling up while restructuring of Greater Vernon’s parks and recreation goes sideways. The North Okanagan Regional District has spent more than $55,000 on the negotiations over the parks, recreation and culture function. The costs are born by Vernon, Coldstream and the two electoral areas. “If we were moving forward, it would be a good use of money, but to move forward and do an about-face is not a good use of money,” said Jim Garlick, Coldstream mayor.  Discussions began last fall and while it appeared that progress was being made, a meeting Tuesday revealed clear divisions between the city and its counterparts in Coldstream and the electoral areas.  As of Oct. 31, NORD had paid $49,845 to consultant Allan Neilson-Welch who has been facilitating the discussions. A total of $5,366 has also been spent on remuneration and mileage for politicians. While there apparently has been no incremental cost for staff time related to the service review, employees at NORD, Coldstream and Vernon have been involved in the process.  “We certainly could have done better,” said Wayne Lippert, Vernon mayor, of utilizing tax dollars and the current stalemate.

Coldstream and the electoral areas claim Vernon was co-operative during earlier meetings, but its stance on restructuring has now changed.  “If what we heard from the city Tuesday was the original position, then we could have worked with that,” said Garlick.  “I was surprised at Vernon’s position and it should have been brought forward sooner,” added Mike Macnabb, BX-Silver Star director.  Lippert denies Tuesday’s meeting was a loss.  “We made progress. The issues are out there and clear,” he said, adding that the city is committed to looking at local parks and tot lots and establishing firm contracts so operational matters are spelled out. “We need administration from Coldstream and the regional district to work with us. There could be a challenge getting them to the table.”  The other jurisdictions state that governance and voting structure on issues must be resolved to ensure a balance. Lippert isn’t convinced.  “If we get contracts and local parks sorted out, we can streamline what the regional district has to deal with,” he said.  Macnabb doesn’t believe the process should be allowed to stall, and he says Greater Vernon residents deserve to have their interests represented.  “The public pays for all of this and it’s up to us to give them good value,” he said.  “We need to go back and figure out what we can do.”
Vernon officials state they support a regional function, and Garlick says a solution to the conflict may be possible if all jurisdictions turn ownership of parks and facilities over to the regional district. “Let’s explore this another way. Let’s walk the talk,” he said of the city’s comments about a regional service.
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Morning Star Editorial:  Parks conflict must be resolved
It’s increasingly obvious that the entire process of restructuring the Greater Vernon parks, recreation and culture function has been a waste of time. After 11 months of discussions, and a bill of more than $55,000, the relationship between the four participating jurisdictions is worse than it was before. And the icing on the cake was Tuesday’s joint meeting of all elected officials. It was combative, bureaucratic and unproductive. There is some common ground, but the session revealed a substantial rift, particularly over critical issues like governance and what facilities will be included in a regional service.  Tuesday was a dramatic departure from previous get-togethers that were amicable and highlighted a consensus on where to take the function. The only difference this time around was that instead of just the mayors and electoral area directors, councillors from Vernon and Coldstream were involved. Coldstream and Area C accuse Vernon of changing its stance, while the city blames the other jurisdictions for launching the service review in the first place. For outsiders looking in, it’s hard to tell who is being up front and who is playing games. Ultimately, elected officials on all sides have created this mess and put a valuable partnership at risk. And parks, recreation and culture should be considered important because of its broad impact on the community.  No matter the differences, the politicians must roll up their sleeves and get back to work.