Even while the transition to a Surrey Police Service is still a matter of debate, White Rock council has made a decision to upgrade its own city’s detachment headquarters in anticipation of the change.
READ MORE: Province approves Surrey’s plan to establish municipal police force
In a report to council at the March 8 meeting, engineering and municipal operations manager Jim Gordon said White Rock’s “RCMP infrastructure needs will change due to the implementation of a municipal force in Surrey.”
“Specifically, our local RCMP needs a new, secure server room, and they also need interior renovations for IT infrastructure,” he said, of the 15299 Pacific Ave. detachment.
Council unanimously endorsed a recommendation for advanced budget approval of $110,000 for the police server room and $25,000 for RCMP interior renovations.
Coun. David Chesney wanted to know whether White Rock would see additional costs for regional services such as the emergency call centre, or any other added costs as a result of Surrey going to a municipal force.
Chief administrative officer Guillermo Ferrero, while noting that such information was beyond the scope of the report under discussion, suggested it could be compiled for a separate report “when I know more information.”
“Surrey RCMP and the Surrey Police Service is being discussed as we speak, so we don’t fully have all the details yet,” he noted.
