Voters Approve Annual Taxation to Support Area G Community Halls
Referendum Results - Electoral Area G Community Halls
The official results for the Electoral Area G Community Halls assent vote indicate a majority of voters answered YES to the question:
“Are you in favour of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) adopting the Electoral Area G Community Halls Financial Contribution Service Establishment Bylaw No. 5902, 2025 to establish a service for the purpose of providing a financial contribution to community halls in Electoral Area G, and to authorize a maximum annual taxation of $61,000 or $0.0225/$1,000 of net taxable value of land and improvements, whichever is greater?” Yes or No?
The total number of votes cast were 508.
Yes 368, No 140
View official declaration of results (PDF)
Next steps in the process will be discussed by the Board of Directors at the September 18, 2025 Regular Meeting.
By Jo Boxwell
Notch Hill Town Hall (photo contributed)
Voters in Columbia Shuswap Regional District Electoral Area G, which includes the communities of Blind Bay, Sorrento and Notch Hill, decided to give their community halls a financial boost via an annual taxation to be used for ongoing operational costs.
The assent vote (referendum) asked Area G residents if they were in favour of establishing “a service for the purpose of providing a financial contribution to community halls in Electoral Area G, and to authorize a maximum annual taxation of $61,000 or $0.0225/$1,000 of net taxable value of land and improvements, whichever is greater.”
General Voting Day was September 6, 2025 with voting locations at Shuswap Lake Estates Community Centre in Blind Bay and St. Mary’s Anglican-United Church in Sorrento. Official results were announced on Wednesday, September 10th, after our print deadline. Preliminary results were as follows:
368 - Yes
140 - No
(NOTE: Results were confirmed on Wednesday in time for this article posting on-line. See Above.)
The results of the vote mean that Area G taxpayers will be providing the non-profit societies that run Blind Bay Hall, Carlin Hall, Cedar Heights Social Centre and Notch Hill Town Hall with $10,000 each per annum. Sorrento Community Hall Association and the Sorrento Drop-In Society, which both operate out of Sorrento Community Hall, will each receive $7,500 per annum. These funds will help sustain the volunteer-run community facilities that are facing rising costs for essential items such as insurance and utilities.
Area G Director Natalya Melnychuk proposed the taxation that has now received taxpayer approval as a way to help provide ongoing financial support for community halls. Following the announcement of the preliminary results, she said, “A big thank you to those who came out to vote for the hall referendum. The establishment of this service will provide much needed operational support to keep our halls resilient and a key component in our Area G community.”
Randy Baytaluke, President of the Carlin Hall Community Association commented, “We at Carlin Hall are very, very pleased that the people in our Area G have sent a strong message of support for arts and culture, and many other benefits all of the halls provide… our heartfelt thank you.” Steve McLean, President of Sorrento Community Hall Association said, “I am pleasantly surprised that it passed and happy to see the CSRD is trying to standardize funding for halls.” Kris Hamaguchi, President, Cedar Heights Community Association said, “We are absolutely thrilled to see that the residents of Area G have voted in favour of supporting our local community halls,” and highlighted the “invaluable support of our area residents as both participants and volunteers.” Kris encouraged residents to engage with their halls, stating, “Getting involved gives your life such added value in many ways.”
The CSRD Board will now determine if a parcel tax or an ad valorem tax (based on property values) will be used. The parcel tax per property will be $16.54 per year. The ad valorem tax amount is $2.25 per $100,000 of assessed value. If the Board proceeds with an ad valorem tax, CSRD estimates, for example, that a taxpayer who owns a residential property with an assessed value of $600,000 will pay $13.48 per year, while a property with an assessed value of $1,000,000 will amount to $22.47 per year.
