Three options for city hall

Photo: Contributed

West Kelowna voters could go back to the polls later this summer.

At issue is borrowing up to $10.5 million to construct a new city hall on Elliott Road. If the project is to go forward, a city-wide referendum is necessary after more than 10 per cent of the electorate turned down the request through the Alternative Approval Process.

Council will decide its next step Tuesday.

A report prepared by staff lays out the three options open to council, and the pros and cons of each.

Option one would be to hold a referendum July 9. In accordance with the Community Charter, a referendum would have to be held no more than 80 days after the deadline for the AAP.

That would make July 22 the final date. Staff is recommending Saturday, July 9.

Pros and cons include:

• Election will be held during school summer holidays, which may result in criticism of the day chosen.
• lf the referendum fails, council may not submit a new borrowing bylaw for the same purpose to the electors for at least six months.
• The delay in construction will result in an increase in the city hall construction cost of $18,000 per month.
• lnterior Health Authority (lHA) has committed to the project with this timeline.
• The developer has committed to the project with this time line.

Option two would be to scrap the project altogether.

The third option would be to request an extension from the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development to allow for a 160-day window to hold a referendum. This would allow the voting window to be extended to Oct. 11.

The extension would allow for a vote after summer holidays, but with the delay there would be no guarantee Interior Health or the developer would continue to commit to the project.

The overall project would include office space, already committed by Interior Health, and two residential towers.