It wasn’t very long ago that a small community fought tooth and nail to keep their high school open.
We made a promise back then that we wouldn’t sit idle after winning that fight.
Osoyoos had/has an aging demographic.We’ve been talking about doctor shortages for the past eight years. We’ve been talking about a shrinking workforce for 10.
Talk, talk, talk.
I received a draft of a letter to the editor (at right) for the Times Chronicle. It talks about the potential tax burden that a regional aquatic centre would have on residents.
Almost seven years ago the idea of a regional recreation centre was born in a joint council meeting with Oliver and Osoyoos. The OIB and RDOS came on board to initiate a feasibility study. No one community could afford to operate such a facility. The study was to determine what the governance model would look like and what the operational shortfall would mean to the taxpayer.
We never imagined that the taxpayers would foot the massive costs of building the facility.
This was only going to happen with grant money. We all knew that at the time.
The study is now complete.
The reaction has been that we can’t afford projects like this.
Well, we can’t afford to do nothing either.
I mean this with no disrespect to my older friends, but we are faced with a choice that will impact the future of our communities. We can build more pickleball courts or we can think outside the box on how we can attract younger families to the area.
Doctors are retiring or leaving the area at an alarming rate. The potential for a third attempt to close our schools is almost certain at some point down the road.
We need to attract families.
This will only happen if we work together from community to community, on solutions.
Seeds need to be planted today to grow a healthy community and workforce for the future.
Having the same conversation 10 years from now will point to our failure to act today.
Multi-community investment is how we fix this.
Low tax rates will seem less important if we don’t have healthcare and a functioning economy.
Mike Campol, Chief Operating Officer, Osoyoos Indian Band
