Ranch denied $85k

Vernon city council denied O’Keefe Ranch its request for an additional $85,000 and voted to keep the lease with the city as it currently sits.

The city’s elected officials seemed to address residents directly before voting – giving their reasons for the decision at the Monday council meeting.

Coun. Akbal Mund cited anticipated cost increases to Vernon Fire Rescue and RCMP as one reason for denying the grant.

Coun. Kelly Fehr added that the Active Living Centre also needed to be considered heading into a “really challenging budget year.”

“If we look at the different evaluations that were recently done [on the ranch], and we were to move in that direction, the city would be looking at just a ballpark half a million dollars a year for capital maintenance administration,” said Fehr.

“I just don't feel that that is in the taxpayers best interest or desire when compared to the other serious, serious budget issues that we're going to be facing.”

Both councillor’s Brian Quiring and Kari Gares said the O’Keefe Ranch Historical Society board has poured their heart and soul into the ranch.

Quiring said he’d like to see other levels of government step up to help financially support the ranch.

Mayor Victor Cumming further clarified that muesums “in general require substantial public annual transfers.”

“The province backed out of this responsibility at this level and many, many communities, and if we look around the province, we'll see many facilities similar to this, where, when the province backed out, you're facing the same reality you are here,” said Cumming.

The future of the ranch has been a continued topic of discussion for city council amid constant requests for increased funding.

The society went before council multiple times in the past year to ask for funding, to varying degrees of success. It was given $70,000 in May and council agreed to give the society $30,000 to get through the month of March. Both grants were in addition to the annual $50,000 the city provides the ranch.

The most recent request for $85,000 was to pay summer students and to complete repairs including a $25,000 stairway fix.