100 people gathered in Okanagan Falls Monday night for the Area D Candidates forum.

Incumbent Director Tom Siddon and challenger Alan Whitman fielded questions from the floor on topics such as tourism, traffic on Eastside Road and the hours at the Okanagan Falls Sanitary Landfill.

The main topic of discussion though, as expected, was that of the incorporation of  Okanagan Falls.

Whitman hammered away at his platform topic, telling the audience that the upcoming election may be the only chance residents have to stop incorporation.

Siddon responded by informing the public that he has never advocated for the incorporation of Okanagan Falls, but rather has simply responded to repeated requests from the electorate that studies be undertaken to analyze costs and benefits of a “more effective form of local government.”  Siddon continued on to say the study would be followed by a public discussion and then taken to a referendum.

One resident suggested that a Mayor and Town Council for Okanagan Falls could work on a volunteer basis, informing that there was a member of the audience who had served on a volunteer town council for many years in Newfoundland.

When one member of the public suggested that Mr. Whitman was “against absolutely everything”, Whitman cited his support for parts of the revitalization concept for the downtown – including a Wine Centre focal point – provided property taxes are not used to pay for it.

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