By Jason Luciw - Kelowna Capital News Published: September 16, 2008
The downscaled, over-budget RCMP detachment is giving Mayor Rosalind Neis more pause for thought as she considers whether constructing the facility is really the right move for her fledgling municipality. She says Westside should start by taking control of the project from the hands of the Central Okanagan Regional District. “I think with regard to any service, or capital cost, we should have direct control and input,” said the mayor. “Whatever end result, with this or any other capital cost project, the taxpayers of this municipality will be footing the bill, therefore, the elected officials and the staff from this municipality should be controlling the project.” Beyond who runs the project, Neis said she still has concerns about the planed new building’s “grandiose” design. If the building could be constructed away from downtown Westbank’s east gate, a simple concrete slab building would suffice, she argues.
“The philosophy (originally) was that it should be a beautiful building because it was a gateway to the downtown core. But if it was at a different location it wouldn’t have to be as grandiose.” Selling the land it is slated to go on could be an option at this point, said Neis. “(The land) would be worth more today than it was before. Take that money and apply that to putting a (simpler) police building somewhere else.” Building a concrete slab structure may not appeal to most municipal employees, Neis added. City halls, libraries and other public buildings usually offer staff and the public comfortable surroundings. However, those municipalities have had decades to establish those kinds of amenities, compared to Westside’s nine months of existence, she noted. “We’re in a completely different category here. Give us 10 years to save, it might be different.”
However, the mayor isn’t ready to scrap the entire project just yet. She’ll settle for getting answers to her questions from municipal staff this week, as there could be ramifications to scrapping the project, which would likely weigh heavily on the municipality. “We can’t just say scrap it without having a back-up plan,” Neis said. In addition, the RCMP could still be taken up on its offer to build the Westside detachment building and bill the cost back the municipality, she noted. “I’m willing to entertain the option of them building it, but I would want to know first how it affects taxpayers.” However, not all members of council are opposed to the police building proceeding on its present merits. Coun. Duane Ophus said that Westside staff has done a great job saving on other capital costs. For example, a renovation of the main fire hall on Old Okanagan Highway will cost $750,000. By comparison, a new hall would cost $4.5 million.
A new municipal hall could have cost as much as of $8 million. Instead, staff was able to renovate Mount Boucherie Community Centre and add three portables to the site for a total bill of $2 million, with most of the money coming from reserves. Therefore, when it comes to the police building, the municipality has a little more leeway when considering the need to borrow to build such a project, said Ophus.
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