-Municipal leaders to discuss other options together-
OSOYOOS TIMES-March 5, 2008-
By Chad IngramrnOsoyoos Times
The majority of municipal leaders in the Okanagan Valley are opposed to the idea of a single regional district for the entire valley, according to a recent report.
Allan Neilson-Welch, a consultant who specializes in local governments, held meetings in February with the elected officials of the valley's three regional districts and more than a dozen municipalities to discuss possible changes to regional governance as part of the province's regional governance review of the Okanagan.
He was trying to find patterns or themes, said Jerry Oglow, vice-chair of the valley's governance working committee, a consortium of 12 representatives from the valley's three regional districts.
Neilson-Welch's report shows that most municipal leaders seem to favour a system that would maintain the current regional districts and introduce an inter-regional body to deal with valley-wide issues such as air and water quality and transportation.
With respect to the single regional governance model, there's not as much support as we thought there might be, said Oglow, who is also chair of the Regional District of the North Okanagan (RDNO) and mayor of the city of Armstrong.
That model would amalgamate the Okanagan's three regional districts into one.
More discussion around that needs to happen, Oglow said.
The next step in the governance review will be a meeting which will bring together all of the valley's municipal leaders and regional directors.
This council of councils will meet in Kelowna on March 7.
It's an important opportunity for all elected officials to come together and hear the same presentation and have a joint discussion, Oglow said.
Roughly 120 municipal officials are expected to attend the council and they will hear a presentation on the progress of the governance review before forming smaller discussion groups for what Oglow called break-out sessions.
Osoyoos Coun. Stu Wells will be in attendance.
It seems to be regional district-driven, Wells said of the governance review process. And I'm leery of regional district government.rnDespite his qualms, Wells did say he likes the idea of an inter-regional committee to look at issues of air quality, water quality and transportation.
Minister of Community Services Ida Chong, whose department is conducting a governance review of the Okanagan Valley, is also scheduled to appear at Friday's meeting.
She's been kept in the loop by her senior staff, Oglow said.
He explained that the members of the governance working committee will hold their own meeting directly following the council of councils meeting to discuss what they've heard.
They will then instruct the chief administrative officers of the three districts (including the interim officer for the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen) to compile a draft report.
That report is to be reviewed at a March 19 working committee meeting.
The committee's mandate is to submit a final report with its recommendations to the Ministry of Community Services by March 31.
