Arena Referendum Likely This Fall

Posted on 4/6/2015 by Ron Manz 107.5 KISSFM
It looks like the Greater Vernon arena referendum won't take place until this coming fall. Initially, officials hoped to present it to voters this spring, but that won't happen. Vernon councillor and Greater Vernon Advisory Committee chair Juliette Cunningham says administration has some work to complete first. "We have some bylaws that we are working on that the province will have to approve on how we move forward on that. We will actually be getting a report on that from staff fairly soon." The province gave preliminary approval in February for a vote on a second ice sheet in Vernon to be owned by the Regional District and leased back to the city. That came after the province quashed a referendum on the issue last November over jurisdictional concerns between the city and regional district. "We were hoping for spring, but that's not going to happen, and now were probably targeting a fall referendum," Cunningham tells Kiss FM. The referendum would ask regional voters to borrow money to add a second sheet at Kal Tire Place to replace the Civic Arena which dates back to 1937 and is raising concerns about mounting operation costs.