The City of Nanaimo is intending, during a third alternative-approval process, to clearly communicate what a public works yard rebuild will entail, why it’s needed, and what it will cost.
The city launched its third AAP for the public works yard on Sept. 18, and is accepting elector responses until Oct. 31.
Last fall and winter, the city held consecutive alternative-approval processes to try to gain citizens’ approval to borrow $48.5 million for a first phase of an estimated $163-million rebuild of the Labieux Road yard. The original public works buildings there were built in the 1960s and are no longer meeting the needs of the city or its staff members, according to the city’s project website.
The fleet maintenance building is “past its useful life,” doesn’t fit some of the larger fleet vehicles, and isn’t seismically safe. The crew and administration building is too small, relies on trailers not intended for permanent use, and also isn’t seismically sound.
After the first two AAPs were cancelled due to administrative errors, city staff re-assessed the master plan for the site and pitched to council a ‘highest-needs’ option, constructing the two most necessary buildings in the same phase.
Bill Sims, the city’s general manager of engineering and public works, said an estimated $163-million project can now be done for $90 million because the scope has been scaled back somewhat and because the accelerated timeline will mean an estimated $10 million in inflation savings. He noted that a multi-phase project would have meant that each phase would have come with cost escalation.
“There are still other components of the work of that original grand vision of the Nanaimo Operations Centre that need to be done, but it can be folded into capital planning over the next decade or so, let’s say, without the need to borrow,” he said. “The projects that we’re delaying – or not borrowing for and not focusing on at this point – are those non-staff areas, the non-critical functions.”
If the AAP is successful, the city will not borrow the entire $90 million right at the start; it will borrow as needed to cover anticipated costs as the project proceeds. Presuming the full $90 million is borrowed, the additional taxes for a typical Nanaimo household will be $139 per year, according to the city’s website.
Sims said city staff recognizes that the public works yard is just one of a series of potential big-ticket capital projects that may require borrowing over the coming years. Some others under consideration include a new RCMP detachment building, a south-end community centre, Beban Park improvements, Harbourfront Walkway extension, a future fire station, and more.
Sims said these sorts of major projects have been discussed “in the same breath” for the past four or five years.
“All these projects are considered from a corporate point of view rather than departmental,” he said. “These are major, they’re a financial impact to the community, no question, and it would be a disservice, quite frankly, of staff to do that to council, to say we’re bringing one project forward at a time and surprise, here’s another one.”
The public works yard is no longer being called the Nanaimo Operations Centre due to the project’s new scope, and Sims said staff isn’t trotting out the same messaging either, as it delivers a fresh communications plan to inform citizens about the project, the costs, and the AAP process itself.
He said that the city is also attempting to provide accurate information while some in the community are circulating misinformation, for example that the city is building a data centre at the works yard.
“This is a basic, functional piece of infrastructure from which the entire community benefits. We use our infrastructure to deliver services,” he said. “The city taxpayers, the city property owners own $5.8 billion worth of underground pipes, roadways, sidewalks, walkways, parks, facilities, etc. … which is all serviced by our operations staff.”
The city will be able to proceed with borrowing up to $90 million for the project unless 10 per cent of the electorate, or 7,974 citizens, register their opposition by filling out an elector response form and submitting it online or mailing it or dropping it off at city hall by Oct. 31. For more information, visit www.nanaimo.ca or click here.
