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It didn’t take long for the new Penticton Council to enter into its first debate.
After Tuesday’s inauguration ceremony, Mayor John Vassilaki and members of the new Council - including former mayor and councillor Jake Kimberley, former councillor Katie Robinson, returning councillors Judy Sentes and Campbell Watt and newcomers Julius Bloomfield and Frank Regehr - tackled a very brief agenda.
One of the items was deciding which members of Council should represent the City of Penticton on the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) Board of Directors.
Vassilaki presented a motion stating that he and the top three vote getters in the Oct. 20 municipal election - Kimberley, Regehr and Bloomfield - serve on the RDOS Board, with Sentes as an alternate.
Sentes asked to speak to the motion, stating she would like to keep her position on the RDOS Board, believing residents would be best served by Councillors with previous experience.
Councillors’ experience, time availability and interest should be the prime factors in considering who gets appointed to the RDOS Board, she said.
The twice-monthly RDOS agendas are often 500 pages or longer and 19-member Board members are expected to fully participate in Board duties “and not just be an observer” and serving on the Board would be best suited by those with previous experience, said Sentes.
“It is essential for our city’s representatives to be well understanding of Penticton’s values and objectives within a regional context, as well as a familiarity of the working relationship between these two significant entities,” she said. “A first-time Councillor needs to be very familiar with the workings with Penticton’s City Council before representing that Council to the RDOS.”
She didn’t believe the responsibilities that come with being an RDOS Board member are fair to rookie Councillors, she said.
“Particularly when there are people with RDOS experience on Council,” she said.
Sentes’ recommended that those appointed to the RDOS Board be based on length of service on City Council.
She didn’t get any support.
Kimberley, a three-time mayor of Penticton and two-time council member, commented he was appointed to the RDOS Board many years ago without any previous experience and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
As mayor, he also appointed rookie councillors to the RDOS Board “for the sole purpose of learning” and they did a great job, he said.
“It is a learning curve and everybody goes through a learning curve, so I have no objections to the Mayor’s discretion here,” he said. “I support the Mayor’s appointments to this office.”
Kimberley said he went from a “newbie” to serving 13 years on the RDOS Board, including several years as Board chair, and he’s looking forward to returning.
Vassilaki said Penticton has a long history of appointing the Mayor and the three Councillors that receive the most votes during elections to the RDOS Board and residents made it clear during the recent campaign they want that tradition to continue.
Sentes was the only one to vote against Vassilaki’s original motion to appoint himself, Kimberley, Regehr and Bloomfield to the RDOS Board.