The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) hosted two meetings this week to inform the residents of Area A and the Town of Golden about the upcoming shared services referendum concerning four core facilities.
CSRD CAO Charles Hamilton was joined by Town of Golden CAO Jon Wilsgard in Parson on Monday night to discuss the vote that will take place on October 20. Area A residents are given the opportunity to vote for or against a shared services agreement that could see them paying into the Golden Municipal Pool, the Golden and District Seniors’ Centre, the Golden Civic Centre, and the Mount 7 Rec Plex.
Area A residents are being asked to vote on whether or not they support a 20 per cent contribution to help with operational costs of the facilities. If residents vote in favour of the shared services agreement, the percentage will come through their tax bill based on property assessment. The average residential home in Area A is valued at $311,776, which translates to an annual tax payment of $28.83, or as one resident pointed out, $2.40 per month.
Currently, the Town of Golden and the CSRD have financial sharing agreements for a number of other facilities including, but not limited to, the Golden and District Arena and Golden Curling Club, the Golden and District Museum, the airport, and the landfill.
“The upcoming referendum addresses one of those grey areas, where boundaries on a map don’t give an accurate picture of how things work,” Hamilton said.
A lack of support from rural residents could result in a reduction of cultural and recreational services available in the region, Hamilton explained. Town council would be responsible to decide how to proceed, whether it be implementing two-tiered drop in rates, reducing hours, or closing facilities Wilsgard said.
The CSRD and the Town have been working together for 18 months to create a mutually acceptible funding partnership, Hamilton said. According to the CSRD, rural residents make up 36 per cent of pool users, 50 per cent of Civic Centre attendees, 35 per cent of Mount 7 Rec Plex users, and 33 per cent of seniors’ centre users.
“We’re one community. We live together,” Area A director Karen Cathcart said. “We worked really, really hard at the table to come up with the 20 per cent. I hope that it does move forward. I hope it is successful.”
Residents at the meeting in Parson were receptive to the idea of contributing to the shared services agreement, and Meadow and Rhonda Smith mentioned the vast amount of young children and those in school who use the facilities for school programming and parent and tot meetings.
“I’d hate to see them not get to go swimming,” Meadow said about students at the schools.
To learn more about the referendum and what the shared services agreement means for Area A residents, go to www.csrd.bc.ca/Area-A-Assent-Process. A detailed list of frequently asked questions is also available on the website.
