Taxpayers may wonder if it was really neccessary, but Vernon's mayor feels it was money well spent. Akbal Mund along with three other Vernon and Regional District of North Okanagan politicians and two staff members flew to Victoria last Wednesday for a one hour meeting with Community Minister Coralee Oakes. Mund says the cost was worth it, as it led to a possible resolution to the arena referendum issue. "I guess what you look at is, this is a 13 million dollar project, so take that cost in relation to sending six people down to make sure we get out point across," Mund tells Kiss FM. The six reps flew back to the Okanagan the same day. No word on the cost, but it was split between the city and regional district. "It's something we've been working on for probably for six years in terms of bringing the parks over to Vernon. I think that's very minimal, spending that money, to get a resolution we want," adds Mund. Mund says he strongly believes in-person meetings are more effective than talking over the phone. "You're talking face to face, just like the old days, and that's a lot more credible than just saying, 'Yeah, I'll look into it,' over the phone, and nothing ever comes back." The province has rejected the original proposal for a borrowing referendum on a second ice sheet at Kal Tire Place, where the City of Vernon would own the facility and the regional district would borrow the funds.However, last week's meeting did create the possibility for an alternative proposal where RDNO would borrow the funds and own the facility, the city would operate it, and would be able to lease it back from the region and take ownership once the debt is paid off. Mund was joined on the trip by Vernon councillor Catherine Lord, RDNO chair Rick Fairbairn, Area B director Bob Fleming, and two staff members.
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107.5 KISSFM POLL: Results FINAL
 Do you think it was a good use of taxpayer money to fly six local reps to Victoria to make progress on the arena issue? | ||
|---|---|---|
| no | ||
| 38- | 71.7% | |
| yes | ||
| 9- | 17% | |
| don't know enough about it | ||
| 6- | 11.3% | |
| Number of Voters | : 53 |
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