‘This is what the entire community relies on:’ second AAP approved for new Nanaimo Operations centre

An administrative error by the City in delivering proper public notice, as required by the province, nullified the first vote.

The second AAP will commence mid-January following the required weeks of public notice.

In order for the AAP to fail and borrowing to be denied, 7,889 or more people representing 10 per cent of the electorate must submit the required written notification prior to 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2024.

The threshold is roughly 100 people higher than the first AAP where at least 7,799 objections were required with the City recalculating the estimated number of eligible electors.

Just 3,035 were received through October and early November.

City staff touted the AAP as a preferred process over a referendum as it gives voters a minimum of 30 days to register their objections as opposed to just three days to cast a ballot in referendum.

It’s also significantly cheaper.

A vast majority of the requested $48.5 million will go towards the construction of a new fleet and maintenance facility on Labieux Rd. at a budgeted cost of around $40 million.

Also included is a truck wash and dump facility.

An additional $4.5 million will go towards storm water management, $1.25 million to improve neighbouring fire training facilities and $2.75 million for a multi-use pathway behind the property in lieu of typical improvements along the street itself.

Totals presented in City reports include a contingency, with actual current estimated construction costs coming to around $22 million.

Bill Sims, general manager of engineering and public works, told Councillors the facility is one everyone in the city looks to when issues around garbage, water, sewer or fire arise.

“Community has a hard time seeing value in a public works building, but…this is what the entire community relies on but sight unseen, to be able to function and make sure the water keeps flowing, garbage keeps going, fire trucks are running, etcetera.”

He added City staff investigated doing the entire project, estimated to be around $160 million, all at once however it would be “exceedingly challenging” to fit all the required work into the required five year timeline required when municipalities borrow money.

Phase One was chosen as a priority as the current fleet maintenance building is “ready to crumble”, according to Sims, contains poor working conditions for mechanics and is too small for vehicles such as garbage and fire trucks.

Sandy Bartlett implored Council to hold a referendum, or at least issue more public engagement to ensure residents were aware of the process. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Nanaimo lawyer Sandy Bartlett spoke at the meeting, on behalf of a large crowd determined to see a referendum on the borrowing and the project overall.

He said people just simply didn’t know about the project, or the initial AAP.

“If you don’t subscribe to the newspaper that it’s advertised in, or read the website of the City of Nanaimo, you simply don’t know about it. If you’re trying to reach all the people in Nanaimo, you need to do something different than the last time you ran this AAP process.”

Multiple local media outlets have reported on the Nanaimo Operations Centre repeatedly for years, including the first AAP process, while information has been available on the City website for a considerable amount of time.

The project itself has been on the City’s radar dating back to the early 2000’s where it would have cost an estimated $10 million ($17.8 million adjusted for inflation).

Bartlett said he still wasn’t aware about the full details of the project, but later said he was aware what was on the City’s website regarding the Operations Centre.

He added despite being “well off”, he has anxiety about borrowing this amount of money without fully understanding the project.

“When you’re borrowing my money for me, I want to know about. You’ve got to ask me if you’re going to borrow money. I will tell you honestly if it’s worthwhile, in my view, I’ll answer yes. If it isn’t…I’ll answer no.

He requested a mail out campaign to every home in Nanaimo, something not consistent with AAP best practices from the province, nor local elections or referendums.

A large crowd watched on as Councillors debated the merits of another AAP, with some mentioning they were very undecided about how to proceed. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Coun. Tyler Brown, along with coun. Ben Geselbracht, were the opposing votes on restarting the AAP process.

The pair differed on whether sufficient information had been delivered to Council, with Brown saying the burden of proof on this project and the scope had not been met.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the public works facility is long overdue for redevelopment and improvement, no question. However when we are making decisions like this with significant capital expenditure but also how the debt servicing costs will translate into annual budgets, there is a burden of proof that needs to be met in my mind for making that decision.”

He added he’s still unable to properly communicate the project to people who ask him about it, as he said he doesn’t have the information.

“I don’t think it’s been presented to Council…but I definitely don’t think whether it was through referendum or AAP that the project was communicated fully in a way that a member of the public could decide whether they were for it or not.”

Deferral of the vote Monday was also discussed, however City staff urged caution.

Municipalities have two windows per year to borrow funds and the restart of the AAP was already pressing a fall 2024 deadline.

Further delay could have pushed borrowing to spring 2025, assuming eventual electoral approval, and resulted in substantially higher costs.

Staff and Council have both commented projected costs are rising roughly $1 million per month on the Operations Centre.

“What we’re doing tonight by voting in favour of the Alternative Approval Process is the best way to save money for the taxpayers, is the best way to get on with this project and is the best way to ensure in the event of a real disaster, this City and its workers who will work tirelessly through the next snow storm, or the water main break, get the kind of facility they deserve and merit,” an impassioned Mayor Leonard Krog said immediately before the vote.

Council also asked about saving up through taxation to finance the project internally.

Director of finance Laura Mercer said if Council wanted to put aside $5 million per year for 10 years, it would result in a 3.8 per cent property tax increase in the first year, then incremental increases each year after.

The current public works facility on Labieux Rd. in Nanaimo is badly outdated and undersized, according to the City. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

The AAP process is one which has been used frequently by the City on a wide array of issues.

Most notably in recent history, the City was permitted to borrow up to $17 million for the construction of the now-open Fire Station #1 on Fitzwilliam St.

The May 2018 deadline saw just over one per cent of electors register an objection.

Most other AAP’s, dating back to 2008 and for items related to park dedications and lease agreements, comfortably passed with less than a handful of people against each time.

The only AAP to fail in the last 15 years in Nanaimo was a July-August 2008 bid to expand the municipal boundary to include Cable Bay inside City limits.

Roughly 13.6 per cent of eligible electors sent in the necessary paperwork and the process stopped.

The most recent referendum in the Harbour City was regarding construction of an Events Centre, which included borrowing upwards of $80 million.

Around 80 per cent of voters rejected the idea.

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by Alex Rawnsley

‘This is what the entire community relies on:’ second AAP approved for new Nanaimo Operations centre

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