The Comox committee of the whole has reservations about a draft recreation/culture services report, which is intended to help local governments establish a regional service for facilities such as Courtenay鈥檚 Sid Williams Theatre.

The report includes just two Comox facilities, the Recreation Centre and the Archives/Museum.

鈥淚 struggled with this report,鈥� said Coun. Patti Fletcher, noting the popularity of Goose Spit. 鈥淭o me, there鈥檚 more work to be done here.鈥�

The report compiled by Jennifer Wilson Consultants 鈥渁ppears to have taken a very narrow focus on identifying regional facilities and establishing principles on how they could be funded,鈥� Town of Comox CAO Richard Kanigan states in a report.

Kanigan is 鈥渉esitant鈥� to recommend supporting a funding model for identified facilities, partly because he feels the list is incomplete. It does not, for instance, include Filberg Park and the Pearl Ellis Gallery. Coun. Tom Grant noted the omission of the d鈥橢sterre seniors centre.

In an effort to prevent municipalities from competing against one another, Kanigan suggests examining recreational and cultural programs to complement regional services, which in turn could free up financial resources and save taxpayer dollars.

The report includes eight Courtenay facilities, along with the museum and recreation centre in Cumberland. It also lists the CVRD鈥檚 Sports and Aquatic Centre, the Exhibition Grounds and CVRD community halls.

The committee voted to refer the matter to the next COW meeting in February before providing feedback to the regional district.

Cumberland council passed the same motion at its last meeting.

Courtenay council is advocating for more equitable contributions from all jurisdictions.

reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com