A provincially funded governance study for North Westside remains in the works.
The North Westside Communities Association requested the study and the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) staff was instructed to prepare a report on North Westside governance.
At its regular meeting Sept. 29, RDCO agreed to write a letter to Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Peter Fassebender “advising it is aware of the (North Westside Communities) association’s desire for a provincially funded study; that a petition is being circulated by the association and hopes that ministry staff can attend a future board meeting this fall to explain the province’s role and options available for a governance review.”
“That’s not what I was looking for,” said a disappointed Wayne Carson, North Westside RDCO director.
“I was seeking a resolution of support for the study. To me, it should have been rubber stamped.”
Carson said the staff report requested by the association to be prepared by RDCO staff prior to Monday’s meeting was not done.
Carson was surprised by the result considering his colleagues asked a ton of questions of the association for about 90 minutes after their presentation requesting the study.
Currently, North Westside has one director – Carson – at the RDCO board table, which also includes Kelowna, Lake Country, West Kelowna, Peachland and the Central Okanagan East electoral areas.
North Westside residents have expressed concerns that the current governance doesn’t represent their needs because the area is quite a ways from the RDCO offices and service costs are growing.
Carson presented a 700-name petition to the board stating there was no opposition for a provincially funded governance study.
He is slated to meet with Fassbender today ahead of next week’s Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Victoria.