Nanaimo’s event centre referendum went more than 28 per cent over budget.
A proposed event centre that residents voted against borrowing to build in March has cost the city an estimated $858,961 as of April 7, a city cost summary shows. The referendum had a $130,000 budget but rang in at $166,906.
Nanaimo city council started to explore a potential sports and entertainment centre last year after naming it a strategic priority, hiring consultants to holding open houses with the public. It held a referendum in March on borrowing up to $80 million over 20 years to build the centre, which saw a 35.3 per cent voter turnout and 80.3 per cent of residents reject the borrowing.
Victor Mema, city chief financial officer, told the News Bulletin in an e-mail that the difference between the budget and actual cost of the referendum is because of staffing and voting facilities.
The city’s expense summary says costs will be finalized once all vendors have submitted their final invoices for payment.
On Monday, city council rescinded the first three readings of a loan authorization bylaw, which triggered that referendum and if adopted, would have allowed the city to borrow the $80 million.