Parks function may cease

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: December 07, 2010 7:00 PM
Infighting has led to a call for Greater Vernon’s parks and recreation function to be scrapped.  Mike Macnabb, BX-Silver Star director, will present a notice of motion to the North Okanagan Regional District board today that asks the four participants to wind down the service by Dec. 31, 2011.  “There are fundamental points of disagreement and distrust, and there are many issues which seem unlikely to be resolved in the short-term and would not be resolved through contractual agreements,” said Macnabb in a letter to his colleagues.  “It is my view that rather than continue with the current service review process, with possible spill-over into other services, the best solution for all parties at this time would be a separation.”  Among the issues of conflict are governance, who owns assets, budget control and how the service is delivered.  Macnabb says he would support a service for arts and culture and initiatives such as a sports complex by the college, but the jurisdictions are too far apart to salvage the overall function. “A healthy partnership cannot succeed when there are philosophical differences, a lack of common goals and distrust.”

Macnabb’s motion doesn’t have the support of Wayne Lippert, Vernon’s mayor.  “The city has not put in for withdrawal notice and council has not considered that. The city will stay in the service,” he said. “Coldstream has indicated it will withdraw if it doesn’t get its way. If they do withdraw, where will they be with that project (by the college)?”  Lippert believes ending the function can be avoided.  “All issues can be solved with proper leases and contracts,” he said.  Mike Gavinchuk, BX-Swan Lake director, admits wrapping up the service may be necessary if mutual interests can’t be met, but he says that route should be avoided.  “I want everyone to come back to the table with common sense to make things work,” he said.  “Parks and recreation should have never been touched. If there were shortcomings, we could have fixed it.”

Jim Garlick, Coldstream mayor, is convinced that winding down the current service may allow for a new structure that meets regional needs. “We don’t want things just torn apart. We need to work with one another to provide services like Wesbild Centre or the recreation complex,” he said.  However, Garlick says individual jurisdictions should be able to handle more local issues like park maintenance so resources can be used more efficiently.“Something positive can come out of this.”It’s expected that Macnabb’s notice of motion will be before the NORD board for discussion Jan. 5.