Vernon Recreation Centre (Vernon Matters file photo)

By Liam Verster

Vernon Resident Program

Over 1,100 people registered in Vernon’s new recreation program

Jan 11, 2024 | 5:00 AM

The new Vernon Resident Program (VPR) for recreation services has seen a lot of registrations since coming online January 1.

The City of Vernon confirmed with Vernon Matters that 1,122 households from Vernon and the partner communities of Coldstream, Okanagan Indian Band, and the Regional District of North Okanagan’s Electoral Areas B and C had registered for VPR as of Tuesday, Jan. 9. A breakdown on how many registrants from each jurisdiction was not provided.

VPR provides members of the public from Vernon and the communities that have entered into a fee-for-service agreement for recreation to access discount rates for drop-in recreation services compared to people not living within the partner municipalities, as well as discounts and early registration for programs.

Eligible residents can register for VPR in-person at the Vernon Recreation Centre or at Kal Tire Place by bringing in a completed application form along with proof of residency, such as government-issued identification, a lease agreement, or a utility bill. Registration can also be done by emailing a registration form to greception@vernon.ca.

The city advises people that approval can take up to three days after an application has been submitted, as the registrations are handled as they are received, but the city told Vernon Matters that applications have so far not required the full three days to process.

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People registering in person can still access the discounted rates for drop-in services when submitting their forms by providing proof of residency at reception.

The city’s statement said there have “been a few complaints from residents who live outside of Vernon, Coldstream and RDNO Areas B and C,” but added those individuals make up a fraction of overall Vernon Recreation users.

Speaking with Vernon Matters following the regular council meeting this week, Mayor Victor Cumming said extending the program to other area municipalities is not off the table.

“Those who are outside of the [eligible jurisdictions], we are in discussion with their municipalities and regions about whether they want to contribute [in a fee-for-service agreement] but, at this point, they’re having to pay the higher, second tier levels,” Cumming said.

“I think one of the realities is that it really becomes important that communities who want these kinds of recreation facilities, becomes important that there’s a mechanism for paying for them, and that mechanism has historically been from contributions at the municipal level and we’ve been quite liberal with people from outside the region using the facilities and it’s time now to tighten it, so we’ve tightened it.”

The mayor did not indicate which municipalities the city was in discussion with for future fee-for-service agreements, or if there were any timelines for getting those communities signed on.

A full update on the program will be provided as part of Recreation Services’ quarterly report in April.