The drama of Greater Vernon Services Committee continues. "It's disappointing because when everyone puts some effort in, Greater Vernon works very well,” said Gary Corner, GVSC chairman and Coldstream mayor.The Mayor is right, everything works well if we ignore everything that does not work at all.
The Master Water Plan did not work. After millions of dollars of extra fees a large segment of the customers got nothing for their money. None of the customers in Directors Kanester and Field have received an iota of benefit for their huge rate increases. Even today they are under a boil water advisory which probably be repeated several more times before the end of the year. They have every right to be screaming on behalf of their electors.
At least half (likely more) of Mayor Corner's constituents received no improvements in their water quality. However, he does not complain, being the Chair of the Committee, he appears to be satisfied with the progress. Holding on to power seems to be more important than demanding fair treatment for Coldstream water customers.
The huge waste of funds on never ending debates, staff changes and constant changes to the plans only benefited city customers. Even those benefits could have been realized at a fraction of the cost.
Having seen a number of delegations protesting lack of neighbourhood parks on Middleton Mountain raises doubt on my mind that the Parks program provides all the benefit many residents would like to see. I am sure these issues are also raised by residents of Areas "B" and "C". However, these issues could be resolved with more cooperation. Eliminating future end runs around Council and residents of Coldstream would prevent issues, such as the infamous Sports Complex issue creating a public uproar.
The "delegated authority" under which GVSC operated originally was never on solid grounds. It was always a creature of NORD and should have been always responsible to NORD. I don't believe the legislation has a provision for an independent body operating as an independent entity. NORD could never transfer taxing authority to its creature.
All the extra staff hired by GVSC and the independent office downtown created an uneasy feeling in customers wanting some answers to issues of interest.
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