Coley Ecker (left) and Thea Dunn arrive at Kamloops city hall with thousands of signed petitions against $275 million in proposed government borrowing.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Petitioners had their last chance Friday to rally against $275 million in loans backed by Kamloops taxpayers.

The public isn't expected to know the results for nearly two more weeks, but some suspect their efforts helped take the two petitions over the threshold that will likely put the two loans to a referendum.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," organize Marshall Krueger said. "I know that we've got close to 3,000. I'm solid on that, and the other stuff is guesswork and feelings."

After speaking with others who are also collecting petitions over the past few weeks, Krueger suspects his team's efforts account for roughly a third of the total petitions signed. He noted that their station near the 8 Street overpass collected roughly 3,000 signatures for both petitions.

"I do think there's a good number of people who did it on their own, and we know there's other groups out there," Krueger said.

He's been in contact with dozens of people as part of a group called "Kamloops AAP Vote" on social media. They've passed around pamphlets and set up petition stations, collecting signatures against both loan proposals.

Marshall Krueger estimated the Cooper Centre petition station collected around 3,000 signatures against each proposed loan.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Krueger said every person who signs opposes the proposed downtown performing arts centre, while nine of every 10 signatures also are put against the four-sheet ice rink.

Group members Coly Ecker and Thea Dunn brought hundreds of those signed petitions to city hall, Sept. 13. They were the most organized, but Krueger and Ecker said there were other opposition groups bringing petitions to city hall, too, not associated with them.

It will take 8,713 signatures against each of the loan proposals through what's called an Alternative Approval Process to succeed.

READ MORE: Build Kamloops counter petition campaigners break their silence

Petitioners signing against the proposed loans on Sept. 13, 2024.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The performing arts centre has long been proposed to fill what's currently a downtown parking lot. Once hosting the Kamloops Daily News building, the City bought the property a decade ago and sought approval from the public to borrow the construction funds.

In 2015, a 53% vote turned the proposal down and the Daily News building was torn down to make way for the paved parking lot. The arts venue was shelved until a renewed push and a redesigned proposal came forward in 2019.

Another referendum was scheduled for March 2020, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It was shelved again until 2023. Up from a $45 million loan proposal in 2020, taxpayers are now being asked to support a $140 million loan.

A photo of a handout depicting a rendering of a new performing arts centre in downtown Kamloops distributed at the Jan. 8, 2019 city council meeting.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/CHP Architects

The ice rink, eyed for the Dufferin area at the foot of Kenna Cartwright Park, has a much less detailed plan available than the arts venue. The public is being asked to approve a $135 million loan for that construction and "future development."

The Alternative Approval Process is allowed in place of a referendum, with the OK of the provincial government. It's generally used to gauge public approval of an issue through a counter petition.

READ MORE: iN QUESTION: Kamloops responds to reader's rough math over AAP

If 10 per cent of the electorate signs the petitions, a local government can abandon the project or take it to a referendum. In this case, the latter is expected should enough signatures be collected.

Krueger said he and the organizers he is working with oppose the use of the Alternative Approval Process, and they've complained to the BC Ombudsperson about the City's communications, while also arguing a contentious issue should have gone straight to referendum.

Provincial guidance does suggest local governments use referendums for controversial matters and Krueger said the arts venue particularly should have been considered controversial. The head of the Build Kamloops committee, councillor Mike O'Reilly, disagreed with that suggestion.

The Kamloops AAP Vote group started ramping up its campaigning efforts within the past two weeks. Krueger said donations of money and materials have totalled around $8,000.

Separate from Krueger's efforts, there have been radio ads urging voters to sign the petitions funded by former owner of The Vic, Todd Mason.

A group separate from Krueger's and Coley's was a separate crowd protesting at city hall Friday afternoon. They kept their own tally of signatures, but instead of providing a count when asked, they voiced their deep mistrust in city hall's upcoming tally and the local government generally.

A group of protesters voiced their mistrust of Kamloops city hall as the deadline for the Alternative Approval Process approached Friday afternoon, Sept. 13, 2024.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

READ MORE: BUILD KAMLOOPS: Why these BC cities cancelled their counter petitions

Many of the Kamloops AAP Vote members have been cagey about speaking to media about their campaign efforts from the outset, but broke their silence after claiming they've sparked an investigation with the BC Ombudsperson.

The ombudsperson's office wouldn't confirm such as an investigation exists, but Krueger hopes it will nullify the Alternative Approval Process entirely and potentially restricting their future use to largely inescapable projects like utility improvements or road infrastructure.

People were filing into city hall Friday afternoon delivering signed petitions, either their own or with piles collected from other petitioners.

Bylaw officers stood guard to watch over the petitioners after some disrespectful behaviour this week from people delivering their forms, but manager Will Beatty said there have been no major incidents.

City spokesperson Kristen Rodrigue said the results of the petitions won't be available until staff collect the official counts for Sept. 24 at the next city council meeting.

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