Joining town offers little to residents

Editor:rnI had heard rumours, but seeing the Towns' ad in a recent Osoyoos Times confirms them!
The Town of Osoyoos, with their zealous boundary expansion plans, is having trouble convincing residents in the affected rural areas to lay down their freedoms and join the Town.
Is it a matter of trust? Or is it the realization that there are few advantages to being absorbed into Town?rnThink about the facts – Rural Oliver, Naramata and West Bench (outside of Penticton) each received huge Provincial grants for water infrastructure projects after the recent local elections.
And yet Osoyoos area residents were told by their mayor that sewer and water grants can only be achieved if you are in Town. Thus we now have the situation where there is not enough support from rural residents around the lake to join the municipality to justify all the expense to the taxpayers.
At an Osoyoos Now! forum where questions were put to Mayor Slater prior to the election, he basically shrugged and inferred that if they didn't join there wouldn't be sewers to Willow Beach. Yet he continues to make statements about how much the Town recognizes the value of the lake.
What else is not being revealed about the realities and costs of annexation?
How about our precious rural farm and open land with the associated residences? I see tax assessments going sky high. How would the local administration treat farm status properties and homes? How about the costs associated with fire protection and policing? Who is going to pay, when and how much? What the areas around the lake really need is a reliable supply of clean water, with enough pressure guaranteed for proper fire protection and hydrants, and a sewer system that adequately protects Osoyoos Lake.
It is utter folly for anyone to join Town on a whim and or on vague promises.
Let the Town tell you when they will supply these services, at what costs, and whose costs.
Let the Mayor state clearly why he won't work jointly with the RDOS and provide these essential services.
Rural Osoyoos is not looking for a free ride and currently has numerous joint service agreements with the Town of Osoyoos (Sun Bowl Arena, recreation, solid waste, and fire protection to name just a few).
We pay our way.
Oliver and Rural Oliver conduct local government business in much the same way and recently received good funding on a joint infrastructure application.
Then there is the often ignored factor – how much has the Boundary Expansion Project already cost the taxpayers of the Town?
There are consultant fees, open houses, printing and mailing costs, newspaper advertising, Town office staff time and whatever additional costs accumulated to date “ and for what?
Not enough residents wanting to join Town so an extension to the process has been granted in the hopes that the magic number may ultimately appear.
In my opinion it is time to look at the bigger picture for ALL of the residents of Rural Osoyoos and the Town and to investigate a more acceptable governing structure for everyone.
All the essential services and amenities can be provided on a service area basis within the RDOS or any other local government structure provided the local area residents are prepared to pay for this directly or indirectly.
Until such time as the Town openly explains its true agenda and lets all Osoyoos area voters decide our future democratically in an open referendum I urge rural property owners to hold your fire, stay put, smell the roses and enjoy your room to breathe as long as you can.
No one will convince me that joining Town on their terms has much to offer us, other than we would belong to a slightly more restricted municipal empire still within the RDOS, paying taxes to four jurisdictions rather than merely three.
Eike Scheffler

Editor:rnI have boarded my horses at Desert Park for the past seven years and paid approximately thirty-five thousand dollars in rent. While I was pleased to read of Max Gibbs and Rocky Mountain Turf's proposal for Desert Park, I was perturbed to see the deplorable condition of the facility blamed on lack of funds.
For more than two years maintenance has deteriorated to the point that it is now unusable all the while the Town has been paying a contractor between twelve and fifteen hundred a month to do a job he seems to be incapable of doing. I enjoy being here in Osoyoos, it could be a wonderful facility, but unfortunately I've got to move to Kamloops to train my horses. Before the current contractor took the job there was between sixty and a hundred head of paying customers. The solution seems simple.
Clint Willson