Financing of a new Vernon library is now written in stone. North Okanagan Regional District directors adopted bylaws Wednesday that authorize $11 million to be borrowed on behalf of Okanagan Regional Library for construction of a 30,000-square-foot facility on 30th Avenue. “It’s long overdue,” said director Mike Macnabb, NORD’s representative to ORL. “It’s time to get the shovel in the ground.” Macnabb anticipates that construction could begin as early as this fall after speaking to the company that will manage the project. ORL asked the regional district to borrow the $11 million through the Municipal Finance Authority because of competitive interest rates (ORL cannot apply to MFA directly). “It’s the cheapest way of getting funding,” said Macnabb. “Some projects have got funding on the open market and there have been increased costs because of interest rates.” ORL will repay the principal and pay the interest, fees and financing, and cost-sharing will be done by the entire library district, which covers from Golden to Osoyoos and Princeton.
The library board has already put aside some money for the project and it’s anticipated the additional annual capital and operating costs will be 50 cents to $1 per year for the average residence in the entire ORL service region. NORD directors were able to adopt the borrowing bylaws after 314 people signed an alternate approval process. Borrowing would have been blocked if 10 per cent (6,355) of local voters had signed the petition.
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