Replacement of the aging, inaccessible and undersized Ladysmith City Hall is subject to an Alternative Approval Process, which got underway Friday, May 24. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

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AAP opens to finance new Ladysmith City Hall

May 24, 2024 | 5:27 AM

LADYSMITH — A 33 day legislative process is underway which aims for elector approval to borrow money for a new Ladysmith City Hall.

An alternative approval process (AAP) opened Friday, May 24 and will run through June 25 at 4 p.m with voters asked for input on the Town borrowing up to $13.5 million for the project, which is proposed to sit below residential housing units on the same lot.

The Community Charter stipulates elector approval is required for any local government borrowing that will be repaid over more than five years.

Mayor Aaron Stone said discussion has taken place for the better part of a decade on the need to upgrade the site at the corner of 1st Ave. and Buller St., with the mayor noting the project only gets more expensive as time passes.

“The need is stark, it’s not just that it’s not a great work environment but I would argue it doesn’t meet basic standards. Not just for our own staff or for our community members, but definitely not around accessibility.”

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Use of the AAP was given the green light by Council in early January and sees a 33-day open period for those opposed to the borrowing to register their objection.

Ten per cent of electors, or 741 people, are required to vote against the borrowing to prevent the Town from borrowing the money for the project.

Forms are available at City Hall and on the Town’s website and must be returned by deadline in person or by mail.

The loan would be repayed over the course of 30 years, according to a staff report, with an estimated annual payment of $860,520.

Residential components to the project are not included in the AAP or the financing and voters are strictly being asked to respond to the City Hall itself.

Stone said the more information the Town can put out regarding the project, the better to avoid a complicated public discourse.

“I can’t stress how critical it is to have fulsome information available from day one. Just to make sure, as the old saying goes ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’. In this case, vaccinating folks against bad information with good information is also really important.”

Early design work and basic renderings are expected imminently and will be made available to the public as soon as possible.

Developers have accessed provincial funding for the design portion of the project, according to Town staff.

More information on the City Hall and the Buller St. Revitalization Project is available on the Town’s website.

The last AAP done by the Town of Ladysmith cleared the way in 2022 to spend up to $2.1 million for a new aerial platform fire truck for Ladysmith Fire/Rescue.

Use of the AAP has had a checkered recent history in Nanaimo.

City of Nanaimo were twice forced to stop an AAP process for a proposed Nanaimo Operations Centre, due to administrative errors in notice and procedure.

Councillors in Nanaimo are set to receive some updated information on AAP’s and potential alternatives to the Operations Centre project in the coming weeks.

Previously, an AAP was successfully completed early in 2023 for a park dedication removal, as well as in 2018 to help finance construction of the new #1 Fire Hall on Fitzwilliam St.

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