Summerland officials argue hours staff spent on project worthwhile

Seniors’ housing complex rejected 22 months after it was proposed

Summerland’s chief administrative officer is uncertain how many staff hours were spent on the recent Banks Crescent development proposal.

Last week, council voted against a proposed seniors’ housing complex that, if built, would have included five six-storey buildings constructed over three levels of underground parking.

Size, location and potential impact on the aquifer and Summerland’s trout hatchery were among the main reasons five councillors voted against the project.

“I can’t even give an estimate at this point,” CAO Linda Tynan said when asked how many staff hours were dedicated to the project during the past 22 months.

“I truly can’t fathom a number . . . but it’s large.”

Tynan was asked at the conclusion of Tuesday’s regular council meeting if Summerland time-tracks, a system whereby employees record time spent in a day.

“We had quite a bit of staff turnover in 22 months, so it’s difficult to even know,” she said. “If council directed us to do it, obviously we’d do it. It’s more that we want to figure out what to suggest to council to move forward.”

Time-tracking is something she’d consider, as a new system has been created that’s more user-friendly for all parties.

Tynan insists other projects were not delayed due to the Banks Crescent proposal and said it was business as usual at municipal hall for the past two years with no disruption in services.

“Development services put considerable time into this. Our senior management team doesn’t get paid overtime, and I know how much overtime they put into this so that other important things weren’t pushed back.”

Tynan said the vast amount of staff time for Banks Crescent was discussed at a committee meeting on Tuesday. She acknowledged some residents believe the process could have ended sooner.

“One could argue that this council listened and went through due process and that it was worth the number of hours,” she said.

Deputy mayor Erin Trainer, filling in for the absent Peter Waterman, believes the community will move forward together.

“This is something we needed to go through, something we haven’t gone through for a long time, and I hope there’s some lessons learned from it,” Trainer said.

“Council had a lot of public engagement from all sides. This isn’t something we want to do any time soon, but every so often this needs to happen, and it reminds people that we live in a democracy.

“I believe we’ll all come back together. Everyone wants what’s best for Summerland.”