Next council meeting may be in new building
West Kelowna city council has held its last meeting of West Kelowna at the Mount Bouchier recreation complex. The next meeting, scheduled for May 14, is slated to be held at the municipality’s new city hall in downtown Westbank. The actual opening date of city hall was to be provided at Tuesday’s meeting, according to a report to council. “After the city has achieved building occupancy, organizational moves and schedules will be confirmed and the public can expect to see various stages of site finishing, preparation and move-in activity while the building remains closed,” said the report, by deputy city manager Trevor Snibel. An official “community celebration” to mark the opening of the new building is planned for the summer. As well as municipal offices, the building will house a library, offices for the local MP and MLA and an ICBC branch. The building sits at the northwest corner of Highway 97 and Dobbin Road next to the JohnsonBentley pool. No updated information in the report is provided on the current cost of the city hall. In 2021, the project was envisioned to cost $18 million. By November of 2023, the cost had risen to $22.4 million. In late February, the total cost was said to have risen to $22.8 million. Reasons variously given by municipal officials for the delay and cost increases have included supply chain issues, highway closures, extreme heat, extreme cold, wildfires, and volatile construction and Latour costs. A city hall plan was narrowly rejected by voters in 2016. Council subsequently moved ahead with a new plan that didn’t require voter consent to borrow money. City officials have said the municipality has outgrown its existing offices.