What's happening with increased facility rental fees, and increased community frustration over said item, is a failure to communicate, says the City of Vernon.
Two days after releasing Facility Fees: Just The Facts, Vernon staff and Mayor Victor Cumming met with members of the North Okanagan media in separate 30-minute sessions Thursday, June 26, to further explain their position over fees, and their commitment to supporting community events.
The city has come under recent fire from select user groups for high facility rental fees 鈥� which has seen one event move to a different city, one contemplating a move to another local facility, and one cancel its event altogether 鈥� and the city continues to try and clarify its position.
"What we've discovered through this whole process is that if people are confused, user groups aren't happy, and the chamber (of commerce) is doing advocacy on their behalf, then we're not communicating properly," said Vernon chief administrative officer Peter Weeber, joined by communications and grants manager Jessica Hewitt and recreation services director Jason Blood at the meetings.
"And I would argue that we don't have strong enough relationships to actually sit down and have discussions. Our focus moving forward is to take all of the resources available that council has given us and do a better job in that area."
"We need to do better. We spend a lot of time and effort on these events."
The Okanagan Military Tattoo, Vernon Farmers Market, Creative Chaos, and the Western Canadian Taekwondo Championships have spoken critically about the costs associated with renting Vernon facilities to put on their events.
The Tattoo has cancelled its 2025 show. Creative Chaos is contemplating a move to Kal Tire Place South for 2026 after 50 years at the Vernon Recreation Complex using the auditorium, Dogwood Gym, Centennial Outdoor Rink, Priest Valley Gym, and Vernon Curling Club. And the Western Canadian Taekwondo Championships are moving west to Kamloops for 2025.
Like any business, said Weeber, the city has a responsibility to manage costs, and to support, promote, and help organize events in other ways.
The city took over recreation services from the Regional District of North Okanagan in 2014. A recreation master plan was finished in 2018, which recommended a fees review, conducted in 2023. That year, the city agreed to maintain a user fee subsidy of 30 to 80 per cent, which remains in place today. The city created an event coordinator position to help with events, find efficiencies, and make recommendations on facilities selection to keep costs down; and to provide certainty on fees.
Those three items, said the city, have been completed. In progress is a community event grant program that is being finalized as to who would be eligible for such a grant, how much the grants would be worth, and some other conditions. The program is slated to come before council in the fall. Applicants will have to provide financial statements and other general information.
The 30 to 80 per cent subsidy for user groups is the foundation the city works from, and they do not include capital costs.
All of the above-mentioned groups were consulted in 2023, said the city, and sat in as the city completed the fees assessment item.
"Our fees are based on best practice with regional comparisons, but it's hard to regional compare. It's not apples to apples everywhere, but we do the best we can," said Weeber. "It's pretty hard to compete with Kamloops, the Tournament Capital of B.C. That's all they do. They brand themselves that."
It's been suggested to the city that some events should get free rentals, but legally, that's not possible.
"We can't take your tax dollars and help a business reduce their overhead so they're profitable, even if it's a non-proft group," said Weeber. "I can't do that for downtown businesses, so we certainly can't do it for events."
What the city has done, it said, is spend more than $540,000 between 2022 and 2024 to support events and facility use.
Event categories include Community Rate (weddings, meetings, non-revenue-generating events); Private-Sponsored (fundraising and ticketed events); and Commercial Rates (for for-profit ventures) were implemented in 2024, and a phased fee structure was adopted earlier this year.
The city broke down the events in the presentation as follows:
Vernon Farmers' Market (Community Rate):
Weeber and Hewitt said the revised rates for the beloved twice-a-week seasonal market started in 2023, "to be phased in over 10 years." The city makes $3.40 per vendor per stall (based on 75 vendors). City costs include providing CUPE staff on-site to support the event ("No CUPE member in that certification makes less than $30 an hour," said Weeber), permanent on-site storage, dumpster services (hiring a truck to empty the dumpsters), and utilities.
Tourism Vernon has put in $10,000 in co-op marketing since 2022.
In 2022, the city's rate per vendor was 90 cents, and made $67.14 per market with 58 markets held. In 2023, the user rate was $2.51 and the city made $10,925. The rate went up slightly in 2024 to $2.93 daily, and the city collected $12,510 for 57 markets. The rate jumped to $3.40 for 2025 and based on 57 markets, the city will earn $14,523.
The Farmers' Market, said the city, charges $50 daily stall rate, and a seasonal stall rate is $11.97, which includes additional costs to vendors for power and specific spots.
The market, said Hewitt, was moved to the lowest rate category, Community, to support it.
"If this is a huge burden on the Vernon Farmers' Market, if $3.40 per stall causes financial difficulty, we need to work with them to figure out how to increase their market share," said Weeber. "Let's get working with the chamber and walk through whatever location will help it rather than argue. Let's generate more revenue and help it become a successful business collaboration. We can go back and support these groups, but free is not an option. I don't think that's unreasonable."
Creative Chaos (Private-Sponsored Rate):
Despite not charging admission, one of Western Canada's largest craft fair was moved to the Private-Sponsor Rate in 2025 because of its revenue-generating nature. Chaos collects money from its vendors.
"It's a non-profit organization that generates revenue," said Hewitt of the category change. "This rate will be phased in over a five-year period so it's not one big (budget) hit for them."
The city said it suggested in 2024 that the event move to Kal Tire Place, to "reduce its rental fees by $4,700 and increase usable space to add more vendors." The city said Chaos turned down the recommendation. However, Chaos has indicated to The Morning Star they are looking to move to the big arena for 2026.
Chaos was charged $14,123 to rent the recreation centre, and $15,668 in 2025. The city said Chaos charges $250-$585 for 225 vendors; the event generated at minimum more than $56,000 in revenue which the city said is "259 per cent higher than user fees;" and vendors pay $40/day for parking, resulting in an additional $9,000 in daily revenue.
Okanagan Military Tattoo (Private-Sponsored Rate):
Since its inception in 2014, the city said the venue rental for Kal Tire Place was set at 15 per cent of ticket sales with a capped maximum. The city pays upfront costs for securing and rigging at preferred rates. Tourism Vernon invested about $56,000 promoting the event, and there was an additional $10,000 in annual in-kind support.
In 2022, the facility fee was $14,051; rose marginally in 2023 to $14,771; and the fee for 2024 was $12,732. There were additional fees for city staff to remove the netting and glass along the arena boards.
The event suffered from declining attendance from 2022-2024, said the city, by 45 per cent.
Organizers cancelled the 2025 Tattoo without requesting a quote from the city.
Western Canadian Taekwon-Do Championships (Commercial Rate):
The city said the event was in the Commercial Rate class in 2023, and quoted at the reduced Private-Sponsored Rate for 2025.
The problem with the event, said the city, was its timing, as the championships coincide with the ice being in, meaning additional conversion costs to cover staff wages. Such a move also means a displacement to Kal Tire Place's regular tenants, the Vernon Vipers, Greater Vernon Minor Hockey, and Greater Vernon Ringette Association.
The Commercial rate in 2023 was $4,250, and dropped to $2,740 for 2025 with the Private-Sponsored Rate, adding ice conversion costs to both.
The tournament booked a double gymnasium style venue in Kamloops for 2025.
"Once the ALC (Active Living Centre) is complete, Vernon can accommodate events better suited to a double gymnasium," said the city.
Friends of the Library Book Sale (Community Rate):
Online rumblings suggested this popular three-day event was shutting down, but, rather, it moved to a non-city-owned venue, the Schubert Centre.
"Vernon did not lose this event; it transitioned to a different venue in the community that better met its mandate," said Hewitt.
The event had been held at the Vernon Curling Club, where the rental fee in 2024 was $2,280, and a five-year phased in cost of $2,407 was to begin in 2025.
The city said it recognizes the values the role events play in shaping Vernon's identity and quality of life. It doesn't want to lose any of its events, nor see them go to another community.
"We have to work with our community event organizers to help them better host their businesses in our facilities, and we need to have those relationships," said Weeber, a message, he said, he shared in a meeting with Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce general manager Dan Proulx.
"If we don't have the relationships, if we're not communicating, and it's all happening on social media, this is not productive. It's not good for council, not good for the community. We're supposed to be a community that solves problems together. That's our attitude and the attitude we'll continue having."
