At last night’s Oliver Parks and Recreation board meeting it was made clear that 2013 funding for a youth centre will not be forthcoming from the two civic funders – Rural Area C and the Town of Oliver.

RDOS Director Allan Patton told the board we would not favour using more taxpayer money for this service of the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club which operates a youth center in the Air Cadet hangar. Patton says the facilities at Park and Recreation cost a lot of taxpayers money and those resources should be used for everyone including teenagers.

Mayor Ron Hovanes concurred with the point made by Patton but said council wanted any youth program to be funded by all taxpayers in the Oliver area not just the town.

Both funding partners held out some hope – that the Boys and Girls club could work within the present recreation society budget and offer programs or that funding could come from other regional partners in rural Osoyoos and rural Okanagan Falls.

The Town of Oliver had provided seed funding for the Youth Center for about three years with amounts of up to $15000 to help develop a successful program. About one third of that money went to the Air Cadets for the use of their hangar.

On another matter at the Parks Board – Mayor Hovanes said he had been approached by a number of young mothers asking for a covered pool in Oliver. He said he encouraged them to develop a committee to have a stand alone referendum in a couple of years. Parks Manager Bob Grant told the board he had also had a conversation with Jim Wyse of Burrowing Owl about a structure that could enclose the present pool.  Wyse had indicated he would be willing to study the issue of covering the pool to extend the swimming season and possible use year round.