After hearing that Parkinson Recreation Centre (PRC) is sa国际传媒渇unctionally obsoletesa国际传媒�, city council, at its May 15 regular meeting, directed staff to proceed with a funding strategy to replace the facility.
sa国际传媒淲hat Isa国际传媒檓 hearing from the general public is letsa国际传媒檚 get on with it,sa国际传媒� said Coun. Luke Stack. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e been talking about it for eight years now, itsa国际传媒檚 time to move it forward.sa国际传媒�
The PRC redevelopment is expected to cost at least $180 million, with an additional $62 million for site and offsite works.
Coun. Ron Cannan said while he believes investment in recreation is paramount for the community, he is advocating being more fiscally conservative.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檇 like to see a rebuild of PRC but I donsa国际传媒檛 believe it needs to be triple the size,sa国际传媒� he added.
READ MORE: Kelowna council approves new KCC to be built next to Apple Bowl
Cannan also pointed out that the price has gone up by tens of millions of dollars over the past several years.
Staff expressed concern that if the city waits further to redevelop PRC, the cost will skyrocket.
sa国际传媒淚nflation will happen continually,sa国际传媒� said Derek Edstrom, divisional director of partnerships and investments. sa国际传媒淚f we wait another five or 10 years this is going to dramatically increase as well.sa国际传媒�
Coun. Stack said citizens want more when it comes to sports and recreation.
sa国际传媒淲e simply do not have enough today. Even if we give this the go-ahead today, wesa国际传媒檙e still talking years before theysa国际传媒檙e actually useable.sa国际传媒�
As well, $36 million has been set aside for the Glenmore and Mission activity centres, $4.5 million for Rutland Recreation Park and $5 million for partnerships with UBC Okanagan and Okanagan College.
The total is $287.5 million.
Of that amount, the city will need to borrow $241.32 million, but it also includes capital taxation, reserves, and grants.
There are $13 million in grant funds included in the strategy, which is coming from the $26 million Growing Communities Fund grant the city received earlier this year.
Part of the funds will be used to help soften the taxation impact of increased debt servicing costs. Staff projects that the taxation portion of $241 million will cost residents approximately $20 per year for five years, and the yearly tax increase will be in the 3.66 to 4.83 per cent range over the project construction years.
Borrowing the money would need to be approved by residents through an Alternate Approval Process (AAP).
It involves two weeks of public notification and 30 days for responses from residents. The AAP is expected to be conducted in late August to early September.
READ MORE: Replacement for Kelownasa国际传媒檚 Parkinson Recreation Centre could have affordable housing
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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