Lake Country Mayor Disappointed Over Rejected Rail Corridor Loan

Unfortunate, surprising, and disappointed was how Lake Country Mayor James Baker described his thoughts on the quashed $2.6 million loan proposal for the Rail Corridor on Tuesday.

Residents of Lake Country have rejected the $2.6 million loan proposal from the municipal finance authority in order to acquire a 50 per cent share of 16 kilometres of the Okanagan Rail Corridor.

Photo credit: KelownaNow.

In a conversation with the Lake Country Mayor, he said the District Council will have to look into other purchasing options with partners, including CN. It's all talk at the moment, but Baker is hoping discussions with CN Rail will lead to a deadline extension for the Corridor acquisition.

“I'm quite surprised,” commented Baker. We were hearing a lot of positive feedback and the outcome of the polling is very unfortunate because the project would be a great investment for the District, added Baker.

Expressing his deep interest in being involved with the Corridor purchase, Baker explained that the project would do wonders for Lake Country's future and investment prospects.

“I can't see where the no is coming from,” added Baker.

Baker reiterated that there's been a lot of misinformation out there. Apparently, during the approval process individuals were going around District neighbourhoods asking citizens to sign a petition that voices their opposition to a tax increase. As Baker stressed, such actions promoted further misinformation, leaving out crucial pieces of the puzzle. There are some serious flaws in the information citizens are getting, added Baker.

Should the loan proposal go to a referendum, Mayor Baker said he's going to work hard to present the Rail Trail Corridor facts to Lake Country citizens, including the information surrounding the loan.

For more information on the proposed loan and the Corridor project, click here.

Photo credit: contributed.