By Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
History was made on Saturday as the residents of Okanagan Falls narrowly voted in favour of incorporating as a municipality.
Preliminary voting results came in just after 9 p.m. Saturday evening, with 588 residents voting in favour of the referendum question, “Are you in favour of incorporating Okanagan Falls as a municipality?”, while 512 voted against incorporation and maintaining the status quo of having the board and staff of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) manage the affairs of the village.
This determination of preliminary assent voting was made by Chief Election Officer Christy Malden and “is based on the ballot accounts as prepared by the Chief Election Officer,” said a statement released on the RDOS website Saturday evening. The declaration of the official results is anticipated this coming Wednesday, said Malden.
The results show that 54 registered voters voted in favour of incorporation in advance voting, while 50 said no. A total of 29 mail-in ballots were in favour of incorporation, while 10 were against. On general voting day Saturday, 505 residents voted yes, while 452 voted no, according to the preliminary results.
The 588 voters in favour of incorporation represent 53.5 percent of the votes cast, while the 512 votes against represent 46.5 percent of the vote.
Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Area D director Matt Taylor was thrilled with the results and believes incorporation is an exciting step forward for the small community he has called home for the past several years.
“We were expecting a close race,” said Taylor. “I am very pleased for the community. This decision has been a long time coming and was made through a very open, democratic, and transparent process by informed voters. Okanagan Falls is going to be incorporated as a District Municipality. I hope future leaders are mindful of the comments and concerns that have been expressed throughout the process, that we be cost-conscious and fiscally responsible, and don’t pursue growth just for the sake of growth.
“Next steps will follow towards the end of the week in terms of laying out a roadmap to the incorporation process. Again, I am very pleased for the community. I want to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone who participated in this decision and took the time to vote because it’s a very important milestone in our community’s history.”
Malden said there was a steady stream of voters all day at the Okanagan Falls Recreation Centre building from the time the polls opened at 8 a.m. until the polls closed at 8 p.m. “It was a great turnout today, an excellent turnout,” she said.
Now that voting has taken place and incorporation will move forward, officials from the provincial government will take over the process over the next few months, leading to an election for mayor and council sometime in 2025, said Malden.
“The province takes it over now,” she said. “They will announce some milestones they will be putting in place as we move forward.”
The provincial government will make the final decision on voting day to elect a mayor and council, but it will take place sometime in 2025, said Malden
“I don’t know what their timelines are looking like right now,” she said. “The provincial government will be issuing more information after Wednesday when the official referendum votes are confirmed.”
Isobel Roger and her granddaughter Karen Chapman have called Okanagan Falls home for almost a decade. They both voted in favour of incorporation.
“I’m happy with incorporation,” said Chapman outside the polling station. “We have a lot of older residents in this town, including my grandmother, and they have a tough time getting around town because we simply don’t have enough sidewalks. We need more sidewalks and better infrastructure, and it’s my opinion we can work towards getting things like this built quicker if we’re our own municipality.”
Roger said increased police presence will be a big part of moving forward as a municipality, and she’s looking forward to it.
“Yesterday, we both watched somebody trying to break into someone’s vehicle right in front of our eyes,” she said. “I think becoming our own municipality will bring better police protection, and we need it because crime has certainly become a problem even in this little town.”
Having a mayor and council in place to address the concerns of Okanagan Falls residents will ensure its residents are better represented than they currently are through the RDOS board, said Chapman.
“Most of the people I’ve talked to were in favour of incorporation, so I would be very surprised if the vote was no,” she said. “This is a nice little town, but we do need some improvements, and I think we’ll get them with our own mayor and our own council.”
This article first appeared in the Penticton Herald.
