South Cariboo residents vote overwhelmingly against rec centre expansion

Jun 11, 2018 | 10:51 AM

100 MILE HOUSE, B.C. — Voters in the 100 Mile House area put the kibosh on the proposed $14.6 million dollar South Cariboo rec centre expansion in a referendum over the weekend.

Approximately 73.5 per cent of voters (1,622 out of 2,205 voters) voted “no” against a proposed design Saturday that would have included a turf field, elevated walking track and a hard-court gymnasium. The expansion would have been integrated with the current recreation facility and curling club in 100 Mile House.

The Cariboo Regional District was asking voters to allow the CRD to borrow a maximum of $10 million, while the remaining $4.6 million was expected to have been raised through grants and corporate sponsorships.

Based on the plan, residents would have seen a residential tax rate increase of about $65 per $100,000 on the assessed value of land and improvements.

“I’m a little bit disappointed, but we made the decision to go to referendum so that the public could have their say. They don’t want the rec centre expansion, so it is done,” CRD Chair Margo Wagner told CFJC Today. Wagner added the no vote seemed to be divided between two camps.

“There were people who did not want the expansion and then there was a group of people that didn’t want their taxes to go up for any reason.”

Wagner said it’s disappointing because one of the goals of the expansion was to attract more professionals to the 100 Mile House area.