(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)
October 07, 2020 - 5:37 PM
Now that West Kelowna City Council has cleared the way to build its first city hall, it's time to go shopping for land.
Councillors gave final approval yesterday, Oct. 6, to borrow up to $11 million towards the cost of its first city hall and will add $7 million from a reserve fund that it has been building for the past few years.
CAO Paul Gipps will be looking at City-owned land in the Mt. Boucherie and Westbank town centres and hopes to present a preferred site to council within the month.
The Westbank and Mt. Boucherie town centres have been flagged as the best locations for the city hall.
READ MORE: Despite pandemic, West Kelowna intends to borrow $11 million for first City Hall
“We’re looking at sites we own, that’s as far as we’re at right now,” Gipps told iNFOnews.ca. “We own properties in both locations.”
Once those go to council, design work on the building will begin and there will be opportunities for public input.
“We’re looking at two options,” Gipps said. “One would be a preliminary design and, of course, at detailed design we’ll engage the public for sure.”
The challenge will be to get the new building open by 2022 as originally planned, given that it has been delayed for the past few months because of COVID-19.
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