Westside thinks twice about cash for cop shop

Rob Turner Kelowna Courier:

Westside council took a look at a $1.2-million gift horse Tuesday and decided to crunch some numbers and think about it for a while. The gift was an offer from the RCMP to contribute $1.2 million up front towards the capital cost of a proposed new RCMP detachment building in Westbank. The RCMP contribution would match, virtually to the dollar, the projected cost increase of the facility over the original budget, and would be in lieu of “fit-up” (described as furniture and equipment) expenditures. An urgent timeline faces the project, however, as the current bidders for the work may not hold their prices for very long, and winter will soon be in the offing. But council said staff would have to look at the overall economics of the building and do various analyses before finally committing to the project and new budget.

The contractor, Omicron, has worked with trades and subtrades over the summer to get the costs of the proposed one-storey building down to within reach of the $8.2 million approved by Westside electors two years ago. Omicron principal Cameron Kemp told council that based on its most recent discussions with the trades, it can do the building for $9.435 million. With the RCMP willing to contribute $1.2 million, the project would vary negligibly from the $8.2 million approved by Westside taxpayers in 2006. “Thank you for this information,” Mayor Rosalind Neis said after the presentations were concluded, but, “It‘s been since March that we‘ve hoped to receive this information, and we won‘t be making a decision without reviewing the information with our finance department.”

Councillors peppered Kemp with questions that indicated they do not want a repeat of the Royal LePage Place debacle. The project was delayed several times and its price tag skyrocketed. But it was Neis that went for the jugular, saying, “It‘s a beautiful building,” but asking Kemp, “If we kept the functionality, but downsized the grandioseness, could we cut 20, 30, even 40 per cent from the budget?” No, he replied. Kemp warned council that while redesign of the whole building is possible, it would take time, and another trip through the development permit approval process – “a number of months” in total. Omicron, he said, is able to get started on the project within a week of receiving approval. Central OkanaganRegional District official Gary Leier, who has been managing the project development so far, said the upscale form and character of the building was determined by Westside‘s representatives of the day, a reference to the three former regional directors on the board prior to incorporation. Westside financial officer Jim Zaffino said after the meeting that the RCMP had offered full co-operation, but work on the numbers couldn‘t begin until Monday at the earliest.
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Don Quixote Note: This 16,400 sq. ft Building cost at $9.435 Million will be $575 per sq. ft. with local taxpayers financing $8 million or $488 per sq ft. plus fit up costs. (furniture and equipment.)

The Regional Board August 17, 2006 approved the use of the Alternative Approval Process to seek elector support to establish a new Service Area for the construction, operation and management of the new 1,520 square metre (16,400 square foot) detachment on a 1.14-hectare property at Highway 97 and Pamela Road that was purchased last. The Regional District proposes borrowing $8,260,859 for construction and will repay the debt over 20 years. A long-term lease agreement with the RCMP will ensure there is no increase in taxes while the building remains a rural detachment. It’s estimated there are 19,606 electors within the proposed Service Area from Trader’s Cove south to the Okanagan Connector, excluding First Nation lands.