The City of Nanaimo hosted a media event today to highlight what they call a structure out of date and no longer able to sustain the city’s growth.
Representatives from legislative services, public works, engineering and corporate services were on hand to answer questions surrounding what they refer to as growing confusion and concern around the facility and the cost needed to build it.
The facility was built in the 60s and the city says the need to accommodate the growth since then has grown dramatically which is why borrowing the funds is provincially mandated, but also adds the facility would be adaptable.
“They are also looking at the projected growth for that community over a 30-year horizon,” project manager Michael Lonside says. “We are trying to future-proof it as much as we can, so it has been designed with that horizon for staffing and service delivery in mind.”
He says the new facility has had future growth calculated into the equation, but there could still be some planning that changes it.
“It is not to say the building is going to be obsolete in those 30-years, but that is the horizon for staffing that we’ve pushed it out to,” he says.
General manager of engineering and public works Bill Sims says staffing for the facility is part of the issues, but in the much bigger picture space is needed because there is just no more room to do anything.
“I think you can look around and see where each department gathers and see we’re bursting at the seams,” Sims says. “While the first phase is centred around fleet maintenance, phase two will focus on staffing and storage.”
The city says some of the current facilities will still be used in the new building, which will be updated to include heating, increased structural support and better accommodation for staff.
A complete illustration of the proposed operations centre is scheduled for Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m. in the Shaw Auditorium at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.
