THE
SIMILKAMEEN SIZZLE
Review
www.keremeosreview.com PM Agreement #40012521
Vol.17
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage
Number 37
Thursday, September 10, 2015
2 weeks & Counting! $1.15 including GST
Serving the communities of Keremeos, Cawston, Okanagan Falls and Kaleden
Tara Bowie photos
The best of the best competed in the Similkameen Powwow of Champions over the weekend at the Ashnola powwow grounds. Above a man performs in the chicken dance category and in the right photo two junior boys compete in the fancy. More coverage on pages, 5, 8 and 9.
Area director drains $90,000 grant for lacklustre facilities Tara Bowie Review Staff
Issues surrounding $90,000 in provincial and RDOS grant money used in Hedley to build a washroom and storage facility in 2010, prompted the Regional District to make changes to its grants policy in 2015. The problems with the washrooms date back to 2007 when the Hedley Community Club, under Elef Christensen applied and received funding for a multi-purpose recreational facility. The facility was to be located next to the community’s outdoor rink and would be wheelchair accessible and include concessions, change rooms, washrooms and showers. Instead the community received a small block washroom and a separate storage facility. The project received a $45,000 provincial LocalMotion grant that was matched by the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen out of its gas tax funding. When Christensen and the Hedley Community Club received
the funding, Christensen was not an Area director. But, he was elected as Area G director in fall 2008. The construction of the buildings were completed in 2010 while he was director. Christensen lost his bid for reelection in 2011. He was re-elected in 2014 as Area G director. Paperwork the Review has obtained shows that Christensen under his gold mining equipment shop, Misty Mountain Gift Shop billed the project more than $2,000 for his own services. The Penticton Herald filed a Freedom of Information request regarding the project and reported this week that Christensen was paid $1,900 for managing the project and $755 for his own labour. Documents also showed that three toilets had been billed to the project but that only one was installed. The Review attempted to reach Christensen before deadline we were told he was out of town at the dentist.
Christensen has admitted he took a fee for the project in the past. While under fire from questioning taxpayers, Christensen did admit to personally receiving funds from the project at an all-candidates meeting in October 2014 shortly before the last municipal election. He provided no other details. “It was a longtime ago and I don’t remember,” he said to the audience that night while being grilled about the project. Bill Newell, CAO for the RDOS said the project was never the responsibility of the RDOS although the Regional District wrote the cheques. “Our role was to simply pay out on the invoices we received,” he said. Newell said the project was under review in 2014 but that the file has since been closed. “We checked the invoices to make sure we had an invoice for each payment and we did,” he said. Newell said the RDOS gives out a variety of grants throughout
the year to groups and the RDOS provides oversight to none. “Really it’s the responsibility of the agency to use the funds effectively,” he said. Mark Pendergraft, chair of the Regional District OkanaganSimilkameen said it is not common for area directors or volunteers to charge a consulting fee on projects. “My personal view is that I would not want to put myself in that position where you are charging a consultant fee when you are an area director,” he said during a phone interview Tuesday morning. “I have to say it is not a common process by any means. Not that I’m aware of locally.” Pendergraft said he didn’t think Christensen meant to do anything “untoward,” to taxpayers but rather didn’t consider the optics of charging them for his services on the project. “I don’t believe it was done with any sort of intent to rip someone off. If anything it would just be done not thinking things through.
You would really have to speak to him about his motives,” he said. Pendergraft said he didn’t think the project would have any longterm ramifications for the Hedley Community Club requesting funds in the future but that it did influence changes made to the RDOS grant policy. “Well, I think it kind of put the icing on the cake. (We were) always wondering on how to deal with issues of money with groups... There’s been concerns in the past and (the Hedley project) did not help the situation,” he said. The new policy means gas tax money is for the most part to be used on RDOS owned and operated facilities to ensure projects are completed as proposed and money is being used properly. The provincial LocalMotion project handed out in 2007 came under scrutiny by then AuditorGeneral John Doyle because there were no records to review to ensure projects met criteria and were executed as proposed.
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