By Don Urquhart
Oliver council has agreed to include $8,700 in the 2024 budget for funding of the Secrest Hill Agricultural Farmworkers Campground.
A funding request was received from the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameenon (RDOS) on behalf of Electoral Area “C” Director Rick Knodel on October 26 asking the Town of Oliver to consider a 50 per cent cost-sharing agreement to help cover the annual operating deficit of the Secrest Hill Agricultural Farmworkers Campground.
The 2024 operating deficit is estimated at $58,000 which would have brought Oliver’s share to $29,000 if council had acceded to the RDOS request. The ask is based on what the regional district says is necessary to provide a “sustainable level of oversight and maintenance of the capital improvements at the campground.”
In 2023 the campground had an estimated 925 registrations from mid-April to the end of September. Of these guests, 85 per cent were registered as agricultural workers with the remainder identifying the campground as an affordable housing option.
Based on the estimated 15 per cent who use the campground as an affordable housing option, town staff recommended assistance by the town amounting to 15 per cent of $58,000, or $8,700 for 2024.
Speaking in support of the recommendation, Councillor Dave Mattes noted that the RDOS has asked the town for support previously without success, adding that this was perhaps time to lend some support.
“I do believe they provide a service for the town and the government is looking at legislation that if you are dismantling a homeless camp you have to provide viable alternatives to them which include showers, washrooms, those sorts of things. So I do think we should contribute,” he said, adding that the RDOS might carry the lion’s share.
The RDOS administers a License of Occupation on Provincial Crown Land for the operation of the campground which was established in 1995 to provide temporary accommodation for seasonal agricultural workers. The RDOS assumed direct management of Secrest Hill (formerly Loose Bay Campground) in 2020 to ensure COVID-19 safety measures were in place.
With $657,000 in support from the province the regional district undertook major upgrades to the campground throughout 2021 and 2022 to improve camping accommodations for agricultural workers in the region.
Improved amenities include the formalization of campsite locations, new washroom and shower facilities, new sewer and water utilities, WiFi and electrical upgrades, and road access/egress routes. In addition, 50 picnic tables were built as part of an agreement with the Okanagan Correctional Centre (OCC) and installed at individual campsites.
With 125 individual camping spaces Secrest Hill is one of the largest agriculture worker’s campsites in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. Workers staying at the campsite are employed at a variety of agricultural operations in the region, including vineyards and farms producing wine, fruit, vegetable, cannabis, and mushrooms.
