Active Living Centre (ALC)
Vernon council approved the borrowing of $45 million for the ALC, which is the second of three planned loan draws for the new facility.
The loan will be borrowed through the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) from the Municipal Finance Authority and will be paid back over 30 years.
As a part of the borrowing, taxpayers will see increases in 2025-2027 of 3.5 per cent, before a final increase of 2.8 per cent in 2028.
Mayor Victor Cumming joked about the lack of discussion on the topic, as the report was approved.
"Seems like a lot of non discussion because we are only borrowing $45 million," said Cumming. "I think at the end of long, long, long discussions over many years, when you come to the motion, it is pretty straightforward."
Construction cost escalation
Construction costs in the city have finally seen a decrease, according to a new report.
Infrastructure management technician Rhys Francis presented the impact of construction cost escalation on infrastructure replacement report to council.
The annual report highlighted a 3.1 per cent decrease in construction costs from 2024. However, the numbers are up 118 per cent since 2014.
"It is nice to see a market correction finally taking place after the scary numbers we saw a few years back," said Francis. "These increases have reduced the capacity of the city’s ability to renew infrastructure consistent with council-approved asset management plans."
Francis further broke down specific costs, with surface (asphalt paving) down five per cent from a year ago, base gravels up 10 per cent, and sub-base gravels down three per cent.
"The big savings come in concrete (curb and gutter), which is down 38 per cent," said Francis, who also mentioned sidewalk costs dropping 28 per cent. "We track back to 2023, and we are getting prices that are now similar to what we were getting before."
At the Nov. 12, 2024 Committee of the Whole meeting, council directed administration to consider a 10-year, 0.96 per cent cumulative Infrastructure Levy during the 2026 budget process, which will address rising costs and further infrastructure projects.
The city will continue to monitor costs and use strategies like early tendering, combining projects, and partnering with other municipalities to boost competition and reduce cost pressures.
The full report can be viewed at pub-vernon.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=12400
Loss of parking spaces
Parking downtown will be significantly reduced during construction of the Greater Vernon Cultural Centre (GVCC), but city staff is confident residents' parking needs will be satiated.
As the GVCC construction begins, changes to the 31st Avenue parking lot will be made, reducing the lot size from 162 spaces to approximately 50 stalls.
"Recent data also shows that monthly parking is undersold in other locations, including the city parkade," the report stated. "The parkade has 180 spaces available for sale, with all of these made available for monthly permits."
Any stalls not sold for monthly use are made available for hourly and daily parking. For June, only 81 monthly permits were sold, which is a utilization rate of 45 per cent.
"Best practices in parking management suggest aiming for about 85 percent utilization, which provides a good balance between availability and efficient use of space."
Coun. Brian Guy asked if the report's summary was essentially that "losing these spaces isn't going to be a big problem?"
"That's correct," answered Roy Nuriel, general manager of city planning. "We reviewed all of our parking inventory around the city centre and we found that we have other parking spaces that can support the reduction of the 112 parking spaces at the GVCC."
In the city, there are 978 on-street parking spaces, 556 spaces in flat surface lots, and once GVCC construction begins, 444 flat surface lot spaces will remain available.
Administration communicated with the Downtown Vernon Association, and it has offered to help notify its members of the upcoming changes.
