City takes insurance payout and won’t replace City Park pavilion

By Alistair Waters - Kelowna Capital News  Published: July 01, 2011 3:00 AM

The burned-out shell of the former Pavilion Building in Kelowna’s City Park will be demolished and the land it sits on reclaimed as part of the park.  But according to the city, the demolition of the one-time restaurant, formerly City Of Kelowna offices, public washrooms and a concession stand, will not occur until after the Labour Day weekend in September.  City risk manger Lance Kayfish said Thursday now that the city council has approved removing the building and not replacing it, plans will be made for the demolition. Kayfish said the original desire was to have the remains of the structure removed before the heart of the summer but that was not possible.  When the building is removed, the nearby kids’ water park will have to be closed, he said, so it was decided to delay the removal until the early fall.  When the removal takes place the water park is expected to be closed for about three weeks.  Meanwhile, the burned out building is fenced off and there is 24-hour security to keep people out of what remains of the building.  Kayfish said the plan is to leave some concrete elements for people to sit on and cover the rest of the site where the building stood with grass sod.  Other, smaller buildings will be built at other locations in the park to provide new pubic washrooms and a new concession stand.  As for the office space that the Pavilion Building afforded the city, it will be replaced by reconfiguring existing space in City Hall, said Kayfish.  The city expects to get between $1.1 and $1.4 million as an insurance settlement as a result of the fire that destroyed the pavilion earlier this year.The estimated cost to replace the building would have been $1.8 million said a report that went to council earlier this week.