Fresh committee sought for OK Falls incorporation study

Anyone interested in volunteering for the committee that will help decide if Okanagan Falls should form its own local government should leave their pre-existing views at the door.

“Generally, committee members should view themselves as process managers, not decision-makers, and therefore favour consensus rather than votes as the method of working and moving the process forward,” explains the terms of a reference for the contract that’s available for a consultant to run the Okanagan Falls incorporation study process.

“Individual members of the committee are expected to remain impartial and must ensure that any expression of personal opinions does not undermine the committee's neutrality or credibility as an oversight body, or as a conduit for providing information to the public.

“Most importantly, the committee is also responsible to listen and reflect on the consultant’s input and community responses and opinions, and decide on the community’s interest in incorporation through a final recommendation on an incorporation vote.”

However, the last volunteer committee to work on the issue saw its final recommendation tossed on the scrap heap.

That group in 2022 recommended in favour of pursuing a full incorporation study for much of Area D, with the exception of Upper Carmi.

While the RDOS board initially accepted that recommendation, it revealed in April 2023 that it had subsequently worked with the B.C. government to shrink the study area to include only the Okanagan Falls townsite and industrial area.

According to the terms of reference for the study outlined in an April 2023 letter from the B.C. Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the smaller area “captures the primary growth centre of Electoral Area D, and the community with the existing urban infrastructure (sewer and water), as well as the mix of property classes and population and development potential necessary to sustain a municipality.”

In exchange for accepting the terms of reference and smaller study area, the RDOS will get a total of $150,000 in three grants for further work: $60,000 for the incorporation study, $60,000 for public engagement and $30,000 for an assessment of local roads.

The final results are due in March 2025.

The oversight committee must be composed of 10 to 12 people, all of whom reside within the study area, along with Matt Taylor, RDOS director for Area D. Volunteers should be prepared for a two-year commitment.

To put your name forward, send an email outlining your relevant skills and qualifications to RDOS staff Christy Malden (cmalden@rdos.bc.ca), Kim Roemer (kroemer@rdos.bc.ca) and Marc Aucoin (maucoin@ rdos.bc.ca), or drop off or mail a letter to the RDOS office, 101 Martin St., Penticton, B.C. V2A 5J9.