Initial steps are being taken to ease tension in Greater Vernon. Coldstream Mayor Jim Garlick and Vernon mayor-elect Rob
Sawatzky met recently to discuss ongoing areas of conflict — water and
parks and recreation. “We spoke in general about the regional district and Greater Vernon — about the history of what’s gone on,” said Garlick. “There was a general consensus to keep talking. We didn’t get into solving anything right there.” Sawatzky says it was important for him to meet with
Garlick although he doesn’t have an official role until he is sworn into
office Dec. 5. “The discussions were very preliminary and informal but I don’t think we will have any problem working together,” said Sawatzky. “Time will tell but I have great hope. Both sides have expressed an interest in moving forward.” The city has opposed individual jurisdictions taking
over parks maintenance, and it has insisted that voting strength be
linked to population, something Coldstream has objected to. Sawatzky won’t speculate on whether those policies will change because he must speak to his new council first. “We’re a group — seven minds working together,” he said. Garlick believes progress can be made so the interests of all jurisdictions are accommodated. “If we sit down and everyone understands the issues and dealing with them in an orderly fashion, that will be helpful,” he said. Garlick is urging Sawatzky to keep his city council
colleagues informed of issues occurring at regional district so they
aren’t caught off guard when decisions are made. “We need everyone aware of what’s happening,” said Garlick. The meeting between Garlick and Sawatzky was held at the Coldstream municipal office. “This is the first time a mayor of Vernon has come to us since I’ve been mayor,” said Garlick.
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES: Another fresh start
As novel as it sounds, Jim Garlick and Rob
Sawatzky aren’t the first politicians to try and cease hostilities
between Vernon and Coldstream. Back on Nov. 22, 1999, mayors-elect Brian Postill
and Sean Harvey met at the border crossing on Middleton Way, shook
hands and declared a new era of co-operation between the two
municipalities. “There has been some bad blood in the past
between Vernon and Coldstream and I will be the first to apologize for
what has happened but it’s time to turn a new leaf,” Harvey told the
media, which was tired, like most residents were, of the constant
squabbling between the two outgoing mayors of the time. Postill vowed his council was dedicated to open dialogue. “We don’t have to have official meetings. We can just get together and express our feelings,” he said. Flash forward 12 years and Sawatzky, Vernon’s
mayor-elect, and Garlick, Coldstream’s re-elected mayor, are pursuing a
similar peace deal, although behind closed doors and not through a
cheesy photo-op. “There was a general consensus to keep talking.
We didn’t get into solving anything right there,” said Garlick of a
recent meeting with Sawatzky. Sawatzky is cautiously optimistic about finding common ground. “Time will tell but I have great hope. Both sides have expressed an interest in moving forward,” he said. There was also a sense of optimism back in 1999
and initially, a lasting peace seemed possible. An agreement was
hammered out to bring all water utilities under one roof, the performing
arts centre and Wesbild Centre were constructed on time and on budget
and Greater Vernon gained some decision-making authority away from the
Regional District of North Okanagan. But some strong personalities began to clash,
particularly because the Area B and C directors felt like they were the
forgotten partners. Ultimately, there was a power struggle and RDNO went
back to calling the shots over Greater Vernon. New politicians appeared on the scene as elections came and went, but the situation only appeared to get worse. The Aberdeen Road sports complex fiasco
undermined the credibility of the Greater Vernon parks board and the
then-Coldstream council, while Vernon earned the dubious distinction of a
trouble-maker because it was questioning virtually every function the
regional district offered. Possible restructuring of parks and recreation helped reveal further divisions among the parties. In recent years, relations have been strained
between Garlick and Wayne Lippert, Vernon’s outgoing mayor. And it
hasn’t been uncommon to see Lippert and RDNO chairperson Herman Halvorson at loggerheads during meetings. Sawatzky and Garlick deserve credit for trying to
resolve the current impasse, particularly given that Sawatzky won’t be
sworn in as mayor until Monday and has no official role yet. But for progress to occur, there must be give-and-take on all sides. It may mean Coldstream relinquishes its demand to
maintain parks on its own. Vernon may have to back off on an extra vote
based on population and agree to a model where there is a so-called
balance of power between all jurisdictions. The bottom line is few in the general public care
about the inner-workings of governance as long as the parks remain open
and the water flows. Time will only tell if Sawatzky and Garlick, and
their RDNO counterparts, become the visionaries who finally ended the
cold war, or if this period of open dialogue is simply the calm before
the storm.
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