The people on Penticton‘s city council when the decision to build the South Okanagan Events Centre said in spite of rising construction costs and criticism, they maintain their support for the SOEC. The $80-million facility, which opened in September 2008, was the subject of controversy in the community as some criticized the cost overruns associated with the project. When discussions surrounding construction of a new building began in about 2005, the price tag was estimated at $30 million. Mayor Dan Ashton and councillors Gary Litke and John Vassilaki, who sat on council when the decision was made to construct the SOEC in 2005, stood by their decision when asked by Herald editor James Miller if they would make the same decision again, knowing what they know today.
Litke commented on comparisons that have been drawn between the SOEC and the proposed expansion of the Penticton Community Centre pool. In May, when council voted unanimously to borrow $7.4 million to fund its share of a proposed $23-million upgrade to the pool, some citizens criticized the decision as too hard on taxpayers in the wake of the SOEC. The remaining $15.2 million will be funded by senior government. The expansion plans include a new family leisure pool, an expansion of the existing pool to a 10-lane, 25-metre facility, larger change rooms and an improved public viewing area.
According to city reports released this year, local property taxes could increase by 2.6 per cent to pay for the borrowing costs, starting in 2010.“The comparisons between the SOEC and the pool I don‘t believe are valid,” said Litke. “It‘s a different time, different place, different market. He said when construction of the events centre began, the price of steel increased and was compounded with other factors that were beyond council‘s control. “At that time, we had to make the decision, ’Do we want to start pulling back?‘”
Litke alluded to the community centre pool that was completed in 1981, which the council of the day “pulled back” on and are left with a facility that is inadequate for the needs of the community. “We said we do not want to make the mistake that the council of 1981 made,” he said. “We want to build a centre that is going to be adequate for this community 50 years and beyond.” Litke said it is possible to scale the project back five per cent if necessary.
“Speaking for myself, I think we‘ll be holding the line on the project a lot more firmly than with the SOEC,” he said.
Ashton said the city‘s population was about 14,000 in the 1950s when Memorial Arena was built to house about 2,400 people. “In 2008, when we opened it up, there was 33,000 people in Penticton and we built a 5,000-seat and change venue,” said Ashton. “That venue is built for the future and Penticton is going to continue to grow.” Vassilaki didn‘t offer comment on the question, only to say that he would “definitely” make the same decision again today. To view the video, log-on to the City of Penticton website. The questioning on this issue comes in the final 10 minutes of the video.
-------------------------
Don Quixote Note: The video feed referred to in this post can be viewed on the City of Penticton Website. This would be similar to the P.145 Web Broadcasting of Council Meetings in the 2010-2014 City of Vernon Proposed Financial Plan. proposed as a service level adjustment of $46,289 for 2010 with only $4000 per year for staff time needed in years 2011-2014. (Editing and post production costs not included in budget estimates) (This is not part of the staff budget but will have to be approved by Council. Imagine, Wayne's World on your computer on command !)
No comments:
Post a Comment