O'Keefe Ranch (File photo/O'Keefe Ranch/Facebook)

By Liam Verster

Funding has run out

‘Cash poor’ O’Keefe Ranch looking for more funding from Vernon

Feb 27, 2024 | 12:00 PM

The non-profit organization that operates the Historic O’Keefe Ranch has requested more funding to operate this year.

At the regular meeting of Vernon city council on Monday, Feb. 26, Bruce Cummings, president of the O’Keefe Ranch and Interior Heritage Society, put forward the funding request to the city.

Cummings said the ranch applied for $150,000 in operational funding from the city in 2023, but received only $50,000.

He added an additional $20,000 was provided by the District of Coldstream in 2023, but the funds from the local municipalities ran out, mainly due to the ranch repaying a $40,000 Canada Emergency Business Account loan, leaving the ranch “cash poor” until the end of March.

The city was waiting for reports on the ranch’s feasibility to be completed before making any funding decisions, and to date, only the first of the three had been submitted to council, with the other two expected to be provided by the end of March.

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While Cummings said it was an “intelligent decision” to wait for those reports, he noted those mainly had to do with infrastructure and not operations, and that past years have seen the city contribute more than $50,000 to help cover operational costs at the ranch.

“Essentially, what I’m asking council to do, to consider, is to help us get through this next month, even if you don’t decide on the full amount of funding that we requested,” Cummings told council, noting the ranch could use “in the order of about $30,000” to get through the end of March.

Cummings also noted the society has been running the O’Keefe Ranch since 1977, and the lease is up in 2027 and wanted council to renew it.

Council accepted the report for information, and Coun. Teresa Durning put forward a motion to waive the procedural bylaw and vote on the matter of providing additional funding at the meeting Feb. 26.

However, Durning’s motion was defeated in a vote of three to three, with Councillors Brian Guy and Kelly Fehr, as well as Councillor and Acting Mayor Kari Gares, voting in opposition. Mayor Victor Cumming was not in attendance for Monday’s meeting.

The matter will be brought forward for discussion at council’s next meeting on March 11, 2024.

The ranch is located in Spallumcheen and is owned by the City of Vernon.