The City of West Kelowna is looking to build a new city hall at an estimated cost of $18 million.
To help pay for the new building, city councillors will discuss acquiring an $11 million loan at a council meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
In a council agenda, the city said the amount would help to cover the purchase of real estate property, licenses and construction of the new building.
READ MORE: West Kelowna city hall borrowing denied through AAP
City chief administration officer Paul Gipps said the loan would help to avoid putting a financial burden on taxpayers.
“The City of West Kelowna has the ability to build its first city hall without increasing taxes by utilizing its annual reserve contribution to pay the principal and interest on a Municipal Finance Authority (MFA) loan,” said Gipps.
Gipps said the remaining $7 million to cover the cost of the hall would come from the city’s reserve fund.
In 2016, West Kelowna residents voted not to build a new city hall during a referendum by 27 votes. In total, 4,212 people voted to oppose borrowing money for the project while 4,185 were in favour of it.
If city councillors vote to adopt a bylaw to approve the loan, it would not last longer than 25 years.
@connortrembleyconnor.trembley@kelownacapnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
