WAVING THE FLAG | Counterpoint choir concert features Canadian -written songs [A29]
Morning gStar
The
Friday, January 16, 2015
P R O U D L Y
S E R V I N G
O U R
N O R T H
O K A N A G A N
w w w. v e r n o n m o r n i n g s t a r. c o m
C O M M U N I T I E S
F O R
2 5
Y E A R S
2008 CHEVROLET 2500 EXT CAB LONG BOX LTZ 4X4
Stk# 14-792A
Only
29,200
$
*
*Plus $499 doc fee & taxes.
BANNISTER
4703 - 27th St. VERNON • 250-545-0606
GM DL#9133
Target experiment comes to an end RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
Target is abandoning Canada after a failed foray into the retail market north of the border. The U.S. retail giant announced Thursday morning it’s closing all 133 Target stores in Canada, including the outlet at Vernon’s Village Green Centre. “It’s amazing how the expansion into Canada went that wrong,” said Kevin Poole, the City of Vernon’s economic development manager. Target Corporation acquired the leases of 220 Zellers across Canada in 2011, and it opened a new 103,000-squarefoot store in the Village Green Centre in May 2013. However, the expansion into Canada ran into financial challenges, and Target has been granted court protection from its creditors. “After a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021. Personally, this was a very difficult decision, but it was the right decision for our company,” said Brian Cornell, Target Corporation chairman, in a release. News of the closure caught Vernon customers by surprise Thursday. “It was my go-to store for staples, diapers, toilet paper, toiletries, it was always the cheapest,” said Ashley Neelin as she went into the store. “I’m going to miss having it here (Target), the store is clean, the staff is friendly and they have Starbucks. I’m sad that my options are going to be more limited now. I feel so bad about all the people losing their jobs.” Target Canada employs about 17,600 people (figures for Vernon are unknown). “While the announcement is not a total shock it is obviously unfortunate for those who work there and that’s where the short-term focus should be to help those employees in transition to other employment,” said Dan Rogers, Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce manager.
LISA VANDERVELDE/MORNING STAR
Target is closing all 133 stores across Canada, including the outlet at the Village Green Centre in Vernon. Target stores will remain open during a court-supervised liquidation, and closings will vary on a store-by-store basis. “The stores will all likely be closed within 16 to 20 weeks,” stated Target in an e-mail. Poole hopes to work with Bentall Kennedy, owner of the Village Green Centre, to try and find a tenant for the Target space as commercial amenities draw investors and new residents to the community. He will also be attending the International Shopping Centre conference in Whistler at the end of January, but
Poole admits identifying a new retailer could be challenging. “There’s not a lot of 100,000-square-foot tenants in Canada looking for space.” Rogers believes the Target closure may not hurt Vernon’s economy long-term. “It presents an opportunity for others to fill the gap and that might be good news for many of our retail members who could expand their offerings,” he said. No one from the Village Green Centre or Bentall Kennedy could be reached for comment.
Budget process places pressure on city council RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
It’s been a gruelling couple of days as Vernon politicians map out a financial strategy for 2015. Council held all-day budget sessions Wednesday and Thursday, and the final round goes today at 9 a.m., with public input Dalvir Nahal being received at 10:30 a.m. “I still have a lot of questions to ask but I want to do everything
I can not to increase taxes,” said Coun. Dalvir Nahal. However, that may prove challenging as the budget calls for a 3.7 per cent tax increase for 2015 — 1.8 per cent for general operations and 1.9 per cent for infrastructure. “It’s very realistic that it stay where it is,” said Mayor Akbal Mund. “We all know we need to fix infrastructure. We’re getting costs under control and it’s being well managed by staff.” All departments, including the RCMP, have been instructed to keep expenditures within a cap of 1.8 per cent or less. “The budget is set up based on what we
VERNON
TOYOTA
DL# 30382
PH 250-545-0687 • 3401 - 48th Ave Vernon, BC VISIT US 24/7 AT VERNONTOYOTA.COM
expect regular operations to cost. It’s difficult to plan what a multiple murder costs,” said Supt. Reg Burgess, officer-in-charge of the local RCMP. “The city is allowing RCMP reserves to grow to the point where a significant event can be covered.” Public input on the draft 2015 budget has been received during all of the sessions, and on Wednesday, former councillor Barry Beardsell took to the microphone. The retired accountant called for increased legal fees so the city can end the dispute with the Okanagan Equestrian Society and Kin Race Track can be used for other recreational activities.
“We need to go to court and get it resolved.” Beardsell also slammed the concept of spending $131,000 for temporary traffic circles on 25th Street to see if they improve traffic flow. “This is absolutely ridiculous,” he told council. “Once you do that, there’s no turning back. There is no problem there.” Council also heard from resident David Miller, who supports the direction of the city but says there must be more focus on hiring volunteer firefighters. “Hometown volunteers provide the best way forward,” he said.
BEST SELECTION OF USED CARS IN VERNON! CHOOSE FROM OVER 100 ED CARS Y USat… QUALITSta rting QUALITY USED CARS & TRUCKS
NOW IN STOCK!
$
3,999