Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Friday, 10 October 2014 06:06
Local government may end up appealing the province's decision not to allow an arena referendum in Greater Vernon. The Municipalities Inspector was concerned the regional district wanted to borrow funds for an expansion at a city-owned facility. Vernon Mayor Rob Sawatzky says elected officials will meet in the next few weeks to decide their next course of action. "We do not agree with the province, and we feel lower level ministry staff are not actually following precedence and the charter as it's written," says Sawatzky. He says the ruling to not approve the referendum could be appealed to the minister in charge. Sawatzky would like an arena referendum next spring, saying the longer the delay, the more chance the Civic Arena could fail "catastrophically," leaving 40% of ice users out of options. "It's a very expensive, inefficient facility to run, and it costs our citizens a lot of money," says the mayor. The proposed referendum would have asked Greater Vernon residents if they supported borrowing up to $13 million to add a second, 400 seat ice sheet at Kal Tire Place.
1 comment:
So what are they going to appeal? The legal blur between who owns what and who borrows to pay for what? The province was right to point out the conflict. Perhaps the whole recreation agreement will need to be revisited. Cheers Shawn Lee
Post a Comment