Alternative Approval Process Underway for North Okanagan Rail Trail Borrowing

The alternative approval process is beginning for the Regional District of North Okanagan’s request to borrow over 2 million dollars for its share of the proposed North Okanagan Rail Trail.

It was to begin early last week, but government approval of the borrowing bylaw was a bit late.

RDNO Board Chair Bob Fleming says only people against the plan need to vote if they want to.

“If somebody is objecting to the borrowing they have to either obtain a hard copy or get a form from online.”

Those forms are on the RDNO website and can be printed off, filled in and returned.

Bob Fleming says all the information that people need is there.

“There’s some specifics in there, if there’s multiple owners of a property only one person gets to vote, so they have to select a voter.”

Opponents to the plan will have 90 days to send in their form.

Other information also breaks down the costs for individual areas such as Enderby and Lumby.

“They’re all in there and it shows how much each area as part of the loan is going to be repaying per year.”

The loan is for 2.17 million dollars to be repaid over 20 years.

Fleming says it’s important for people who have concerns to make sure they read the FAQ section.

” FAQ thing I think is good in terms of providing the kinds of questions people might ask and the answers to those questions and hopefully nobody is unaware as to how the process works.”

Ten per cent of the eligible voters or one thousand 688 would have to say no to block the borrowing.