A suggestion Mayor Andrew Jakubeit called a remote possibility in January is coming back before council tonight as part of ongoing work on the facilities master plan.
In order to reduce costs on repairs and upgrades to city buildings, city staff suggested combining city hall, the library, museum and art gallery within a re-purposed Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. This move would help reduce the $30-million bill Penticton is facing over the next ten years for work on 25 city facilities, which have an average age of about 40 years.
At the time, Jakubeit said that was just an option being bantered about but council was far from ready to make a decision about getting out of the convention business.
The consolidation option, which now includes the possibility of combing the facilities in the existing City Hall, is now a key recommendation for study in Phase 2 of the Facilities Master Plan being presented at the regular council meeting.
According to curator Paul Crawford, the gallery is not owned by the city. The building is owned by an independent society, which constructed it on land leased from the city in 1985.
Additional studies are also planned on the feasibility of maintaining Memorial Arena or replacing it, restructuring the Adidas Sportsplex and future operation of the Trade and Convention Centre, which requires an annual subsidy of about $200,000.
Council will also be conducting a public hearing for a zoning amendment that would allow a convenience store owner to operate a U-Haul rental business on his property.
Another agenda item deals with the BMX Club’s request to build a new track on city-owned land at Munson Mountain, following conditional approval from the Agricultural Land Commission on Feb. 26.
Also on the agenda is a request to expand bus service into the upper Wiltse area and discussion of the Tax Rate Multiplier for business properties.
