Support assembling for amalgamation review

VERNON – Support for the amalgamation of Greater Vernon’s municipal structures is amassing.

The Society for the Future Governance of Greater Vernon reports it has exceeded, by double, the minimum number of signatures it set out to collect. The society targeted at least 10 per cent of the voter turnout from the 2011 municipal election in order to have substantial and credible representation in its discussion of amalgamating Greater Vernon.

“We are very pleased that we have surpassed 20 per cent of that threshold in all jurisdictions,” society president Bruce Shepherd says.

“It’s really good right across the board…. It’s not just Vernon, not just Coldstream.”

Shepherd says the the society has over 3,000 signatures and more keep coming in. It also has the support of over 650 businesses registered with the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce.

“The chamber understands that the businesses in town and the people are part of one Greater Vernon community. They know it will be much easier for businesses having one (governing) entity to deal with.”

The petition is still open online, and mail in submissions are still being accepted, though time is running out if you want to add your name.

“We’d like to be presenting to the local authorities and provincial government after the next two weeks, so we’ll have it closed by then,” Shepherd says.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.