A new vehicle maintenance facility and admin offices on Labieux Rd. will wait a little while longer as the City considers next steps following a third, unsuccessful AAP for the project. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

dollars and sense

No referendum yet on proposed Nanaimo public works upgrades

Dec 3, 2024 | 9:45 AM

NANAIMO — The City is taking a breather and re-evaluating options following a third failed attempt to gain approval to finance a new public works facility.

Results from the third Alternative Approval Process (AAP), which sought permission to borrow upwards of $90 million for public works upgrades on Labieux Rd., were presented to Councillors on Monday, Dec. 2, officially preventing the City’s ability to move forward with financing.

Chief Administrative Officer Dale Lindsay said it was a tough setback.

“This was a request to the electorate for support of a financial program for proceeding, but at the end of the day this still remains a project that we need to address, we need to complete.”

Money would have been used to construct a new vehicle maintenance facility and administrative offices on the northern edge of the Labieux Rd. public works yard, replacing aging and crumbling infrastructure.

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Lindsay recommended Council abandons its current borrowing bylaw which was the focus of the AAP, and allow staff to return at a later date with other options.

Those alternatives could include, among others, a referendum on a new borrowing bylaw, or a proposal to finance the project directly through property tax increases.

Councillors did have the option to call a referendum Monday night, however provincial rules around referendums state one must be completed within 80 days of the close of an AAP, leaving the City very little time to properly execute the vote.

Ongoing budget discussions and the upcoming holiday season were also seen as roadblocks to pulling off a referendum in the short term.

The proposed upgrades would be at the northern edge of the current public works yard on Labieux Rd. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Mayor Leonard Krog said the “sensible approach” was to pause.

“Obviously disappointing…the importance of this project, the necessity for this project and it’s in the public interest to have it proceed.”

Coun. Paul Manly echoed a sombre sentiment.

He said the project was necessary and the facility was “well overdue for being rebuilt”.

“We have cinder-block construction that will crumble in an earthquake…and if we have an earthquake in this community, heaven help the folks who live downhill from a broken sewer or water main if the City’s busy digging out their own workers, how are they going to respond?”

Many exterior buildings are made from cinder blocks, which will likely fail in a sizeable earthquake. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Already facing an 8.7 per cent property tax increase, the prospect of paying for it directly from City revenue was unappealing to Council.

Coun. Sheryl Armstrong floated the hypothetical of a five per cent increase per year, which would raise the required funds within the next 15 to 20 years..

“I know there are some people in the community who feel it is a Taj Mahal, and I’ve referred them to Saanich which they’re looking at building a community works similar to ours and they’re at $220 million.”

City general manager of corporate services Laura Mercer told Council borrowing is typically the least expensive option for the average taxpayer in any given year.

Funding options for the required upgrades for the public works facility will come back to Council at a future meeting.

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