Mayor defends City Hall renovations

Renovations at City Hall aren’t a vanity job, Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran says.

Expenses undertaken to modernize the municipal building also increase its efficiency and allow for more people to work there, Basran said Monday.

“These weren’t cosmetic renovations to City Hall,” he said.

Accommodating more employees at City Hall lessens the pressure to lease private office space elsewhere, or even to build an entirely new administration building, Basran said.

He made his comments as council agreed with a staff recommendation to shift $1.2 million from a fund for City Hall renovations toward repairing municipal infrastructure damaged by last spring’s flooding.

Another $2.1 million will be drawn from a general municipal reserve. In addition to the city’s total share of $3.3 million, the province will contribute $7.4 million to repair culverts, creeks, roads and beaches damaged by the floods.

Being able to use a general reserve for flood repairs underscores the city’s prudent fiscal management, Coun. Ryan Donn said. If the reserves didn’t exist, he said, an unexpected expense of $3.3 million would translate into a three per cent tax hike.

Even after drawing from the City Hall reno fund, the account will still have about $800,000, council heard.

Last year, council considered a $1-billion infrastructure spending plan toward the year 2030 that included $13 million for City Hall renovations.