"Really there are no winners at this point."That's the tempered reaction Saturday night from Ian Graham, spokesman for the group opposing borrowing millions for a new city hall in West Kelowna. The 'No' side won a very narrow victory Saturday night. He said the whole process has shone a spotlight on disunity in West Kelowna. "A house divided against itself cannot stand," he told Castanet. "This is a town that needs to bring itself back to reality." He said the city needs to "squeeze" five to 10 years out of the old city hall and focus on other shortfalls. However, Graham wouldn't be specific about what the municipality should prioritize. West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater said he was disappointed by the results – though he stressed they are still only preliminary. "I put my heart and soul into this – as did many others," he said in an interview. In the meantime, the municipality will likely have to look at adding more portables "like a school that's growing in enrolment," he said. "We'll have to roll up our sleeves and come up with a solution," said Findlater. He praised the high voter turnout of 8,400 people, saying it shows there was strong support for a new city hall."But not enough," he said.
UPDATE: 9:35 p.m.
The unofficial results are in, and the 'No' side looks to have won a very narrow victory. A tiny majority of West Kelowna eligible voters voted against borrowing up to $7.7 million for the construction of a new city hall and related project work. It was a large turnout. A total of 8,397 votes were cast, including mail ballot and advance poll votes, with 4,185 in favour of the borrowing and 4,212 against. Declaration of official results will occur on Wednesday.
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Also see http://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/393861371.html
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