Kendra Humphrey (l) and Rhonda Kopp (r) have helped collect more than 200 signatures on a petition that aims to give Cherry Creek residents their own say when it comes to potential fire protection in the area (Image credit: contributed).

By Aaron Schulze

Cherry Creek-Tobiano Referendum

Petition challenging Cherry Creek-Tobiano fire protection referendum process garners 200 signatures

Apr 26, 2025 | 8:00 AM

KAMLOOPS — A petition making its way through the rural community of Cherry Creek is challenging the referendum process for a proposed new fire protection service that also includes the community of Tobiano.

Rhonda Kopp, one of the petition’s organizers, says the Thompson-Nicola Regional District’s (TNRD) decision to include both communities in a new fire protection service area is unfair for her community.

Residents in both communities are scheduled to head to the polls on Saturday, June 21, to decide whether to borrow $3 million to build and equip a new fire hall at the corner of Buckhorn Road and Gardi Road in Cherry Creek. As it stands, Tobiano has fire protection while Cherry Creek does not, but Tobiano does not have a fire hall.

The TNRD says the new fire hall and protection area would serve a total of 648 properties across the two communities.

Kopp, a longtime Cherry Creek resident, says they’re concerned that Cherry Creek residents will be outnumbered by those in Tobiano in a referendum. Of the 648 properties in the proposed new fire protection area, 382 are in Tobiano while 266 are in Cherry Creek.

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“We were not asked whether we wanted to be part of this project or not,” Kopp told CFJC Today. “When I found out about the referendum… I really felt that the process was unfair and biased for Cherry Creek residents.”

“This is not about whether you’re for the fire hall or not, it’s strictly for the opportunity to be able to have that vote. All we’re asking for is some way to be able to go and come to a decision for ourselves as a community.”

However, the TNRD notes that the properties in the proposed fire protection area include vacant lots. While the TNRD doesn’t have the exact population of Tobiano and Cherry Creek, it says the properties in Tobiano with homes on them are around 300, according to Tobiano Resort Association. The TNRD says similar numbers are not available for Cherry Creek.

As of publication, Kopp says the petition has garnered over 200 signatures.

‘Both communities need to have a say’

Speaking to CFJC Today, Jamie Vieira, the TNRD’s general manager of operations, said properties don’t vote in a referendum, residents do. He says any eligible voters who live in Cherry Creek and Tobiano can vote and it’s not one vote per property.

Vieira believes the number of eligible voters between both communities will be fairly equal, although he says the intent is not to split Cherry Creek and Tobiano, adding the voter base being similar in size is a coincidence.

“Both communities need to have a say,” Vieira said. “There are two separate communities here and I understand there is distinct uniqueness about those two areas. However, from a service and fire department point of view, we’re talking about a single fire department with a single fire hall to service all the properties.”

“Everyone would have fire protection, and everyone would pay the same tax rate based on their assessed value. Everyone gets a say of whether they like this model or not.”

Separate referendum conundrum

The TNRD isn’t moving ahead with separate referendums for Cherry Creek and Tobiano as a previous proposal was already shut down by the B.C. government in 2022. The TNRD was proposing to get residents in each community to vote in their own referendum to then jointly fund a single fire department.

Vieira acknowledged it was a unique model to propose to the province.

“The Ministry of Municipal Affairs needs to approve all referendums, and they did not approve that model,” Vieira said “In that scenario, you could have different levels of taxation from the two separate service areas but essentially everyone would be receiving the same service from the single fire department.”

“We had to go back to the drawing board to come up with a different proposed service model. We were looking to secure land for the fire hall before we moved forward with the referendum.”

Following a meeting with Vieira and TNRD Electoral Area “J” Director Michael Grenier, Kopp said she proposed two alternative options to the upcoming referendum. That said, she said she felt the TNRD is set on its path.

One proposed alternative was a referendum for Cherry Creek residents to decide if they want their own fire service. Kopp however said the idea was turned down due to increased costs for taxpayers.

“If we do a separate referendum, why can’t we look at other options that are lower cost for Cherry Creek residents? Most Cherry Creek residents don’t own million-dollar homes,” Kopp said.

“We need to have a referendum for Cherry Creek, or a survey to Cherry Creek residents first, ‘do you actually want a fire hall or fire service in Cherry Creek’ … if we want a fire service here, what service are we looking at?”

Survey says

The second proposed alternative was for a new survey of Cherry Creek residents that would be completed prior to the scheduled referendum.

This after the TNRD, in 2022, carried out a feasibility study to look at the concept of a fire department in the proposed service area. It also surveyed Cherry Creek residents to see if they were in favour of moving forward with a referendum.

Out of 81 respondents, the TNRD says 51 (63 per cent) were in favour of moving forward to decide on whether to initiate fire protection service in Cherry Creek.

“Since the survey, there have been 30 plus more properties added to Cherry Creek – people have moved out and moved in – so there’s been a few changes,” Kopp said, noting the survey was ‘outdated.’

Vieira says the TNRD is pleased with the level of response in that survey from Cherry Creek residents, saying the response rate was higher than the voter turnout in Electoral Area “J” for the previous three local general elections.

“The survey is non-binding,” Vieira added. “We’re not saying the survey determined that Cherry Creek wants a fire protection area. The survey determined it’s worthwhile doing a formal referendum process to determine if all residents in the area want this expanded service or not.”

Taking the petition to the district

Kopp and her petition co-organizers have until the weekend of April 26 to collect signatures. From there, she plans to drop the petition to the TNRD office on May 1 in hopes that it will be on the agenda for the May 15 board meeting.

She said while the TNRD Board has picked June 21 for as the referendum date, they’re still able to pause, postpone or cancel the process.

“I would certainly be very interested in working with the TNRD going forward if the board decides we need to do a survey first or a separate referendum,” Kopp said. “I know the TNRD has done a lot of work and put a lot of time and money in the proposed fire hall [but] there must be a way we change the voting process to be more fair while not throwing out everything the TNRD has done.

“I see the benefits and downfall to [the fire protection area], but it’s about the process.”