City Sending Four to UBCM

Peter McIntyre Tuesday, 13 July 2010 08:52 107.5 KISSFM

The city of Vernon will be sending four of its seven council members to the Union of BC Municipalities convention this fall in Whistler. First term councillor Shawn Lee (pictured) will be making his second trip to the event which he feels it a good use of taxpayer money. He says he'll be able to get more out of it. Lee says the first time was "kind of like drinking from a fire hydrant" and this time he'll know more what he's looking for. Councillor Bob Spiers doesn't see the need to send so many reps to the conference, saying it's not worth the 2 to 3 thousand dollars per person, which he says is what it cost last year. He told Kiss FM, "I don't see the purpose of UBCM, or sending a lot of representatives to the UBCM. I can never figure out what is accomplished there." Patrick Nicol won't be going, but the city's acting mayor feels the event has some benefits. " I don't know that you'll ever be able to pin point exactly when and where that benefit comes. I know there's a great deal of benefit for the mayor to be there and to not be there by himself." Joining Lee and Mayor Mayor Lippert at the event September 27 to Oct 1 will be councillors Jack Gilroy and Mary Jo O'Keefe. So far Coldsream's planning on sending three.