Civic pride on the line

To the editor: In 2003, I worked with some really great people to win the referendum on what became Royal Lepage Place.

Our campaign message was that it would build civic pride and community identity. Today, our West Kelowna Warriors are national champions.

With the regional district, we had an ineffective form of local government and were the largest unincorporated area in B.C.

After serving on the governance committee, I helped lead the Westside incorporation team in 2007 to win the referendum on incorporation.

Today, we have lower taxes than Kelowna, immense improvements, money spent in our own community and local representation.

We are now asking the people of West Kelowna to continue this tradition of community building by supporting in a referendum the borrowing of funds to build a new city hall and civic centre.

To be clear, the outcome of this referendum will not impact our ability to follow through with all of the commitments we have made to improve infrastructure: the annual $1.2 million road rehabilitation program, the wine trail, Gellatly phase four, amphitheatre, etc.

The sidewalk budget has been increased from $250,000 to $600,000 per year for five years.

All of this has been planned within the same three per cent annual tax increase as before.

A yes vote will not risk any of these improvements.

A no vote, however, will mean losing the $400,000 already spent on this project and wasting another estimated $250,000 on interim portables to house a growing staff. This doesn’t make sense to me.

What does make sense to me after the four years of hard work and due diligence by staff and council and public consultation is proceeding with the new city hall/civic centre.

A new city hall and civic centre is an investment in the recruitment of professional employees, economic development, downtown revitalization and a subsequently expanded commercial tax base to reduce the burden on residential taxpayers.

Not only that, but after completion of city hall, we’ll get a newly renovated Mount Boucherie hall back, with over $800,000 having been set aside to renovate it, and an expanded Interior Health space to more efficiently and cost-effectively deliver health services.

Please join me in voting yes for civic pride and community identity. Coun. Rusty Ensign, West Kelowna