Student's killer on parole
Charges after investigation
Hostage was on captor 
Regulating power prices
Gen X is raking it in
LeBlanc laying groundwork
US vetoes UN resolution
$100M Nassar settlement
12 Trump jurors picked
Rates slow green economy
Vicinity hires president,
Record housing starts
Warriors ready for Round 2
Kalamalka Bowl cancelled
Rockets live to fight on
Rihanna's parenting ‘hack’
Tarantino scraps film
Munn talks cancer battle
The City of West Kelowna has broken ground on its new skatepark, the first step in the new city hall project.
The ceremony on June 15, which was closed to the public and media, took place at the site of the $18 million project at the corner of Old Okanagan Highway and Dobbin Road.
The current skatepark next to the Johnson Bentley pool needs to be removed to make space for the new city hall building. The 51,500 square foot, four-floor building will feature an Okanagan Regional Library on its ground floor.
The new skatepark is expected to open early fall 2021.
“We’re making history together with the Okanagan Regional Library and Westbank First Nation in providing recreation, community services, culture and learning for everyone to enjoy,” says Mayor Gord Milsom. “Breaking ground for the enhanced skatepark couldn’t have been achieved without the valuable design input of our skateboard community and the public, and we remain grateful for their participation.”
“The skatepark is the beginning of construction on the site where our City Hall/Library Building is located, and we’re so very pleased to have the Okanagan Regional Library as an equity partner. We’re also deeply honoured to partner with Westbank First Nation to incorporate Indigenous art, language and culture that can be celebrated for generations to come,” says Milsom.
Westbank First Nation Chief Christopher Derickson congratulated the city on the project.
“We are honoured and excited to be a partner in this project not only with the City of West Kelowna, but with the Okanagan Regional Library as well on their new location in the civic centre. For centuries, my people, the Syilx people and Indigenous people across this country, have gone unrecognized by the greater Canadian public. In fact, if you drive along the highways in the province of BC, you very rarely see any indications that you are coming up to a Reserve or First Nation community. However, in this community, residents of the City of West Kelowna and those who come through this building, will be able to tell whose land they’re on, where they’re located, and learn something about the Indigenous people, the Syilx people, and the Westbank First Nation community as they enter their civic hall.“
As construction progresses, the existing skatepark will remain in operation until the new skatepark is complete this fall. Once built, the existing skatepark will be decommissioned in preparation for City Hall/Library Building construction.
The municipality is seeking feedback on the design on the city hall building through to June 27 here.
