Plans to build a new $48.5 million public works yard in Nanaimo have been scrapped after council voted unanimously to cancel the second Alternative Approval Process yesterday.
The motion put forward during the special meeting held at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre suggested council cancel the second AAP, abandon the Nanaimo Operations Centre bylaw, and direct staff to return to council with options to fund phase one of the project.
In a staff report, the city highlights the steps they took to ensure the legality of the process to borrow the funds over 20 years but says the community engagement will help them in the future.
“Citizens of Nanaimo have spent a considerable amount of time and energy participating in the Alternative Approval Process,” the report says. “AAPs are often used as an opportunity to better understand the community’s views regarding long-term borrowing and public opinion.”
Councilor Sheryl Armstrong says council now has a decision to make when it comes to building the project.
“We’re going to take a step back and give staff time to figure out what the other options are,” she says. “It may be through another AAP, referendum, or taxation. Those are all the options we must consider.
“We could abandon the project, but I believe it is needed.”
Armstrong says costs are going to play a big factor in what the city does next, either way, she says it will cost money no matter the outcome.
“Most of the people want to see a referendum and that’s almost a $300,000 cost, which is why I voted for an AAP which costs $30,000,” she says. “The reason I voted initially for it is because I believe it has to be done.”
Yesterday marked the end of the second AAP which began on Jan. 18, less than two months after the initial one was declared to be illegitimate because of errors found.
Armstrong admitted running another AAP comes with risks, and if council decides to move forward with a third process the city can take the lessons they’ve learned and apply them to the third run.
“This has been a great learning process for all of us, including citizens,” she says. “What I would like to see is the citizens who are involved to continue being involved. We need everyone involved in local politics.
“I know people don’t agree we aren’t getting enough information out, but I don’t know how much more we can do.”
Joe Figel of the Citizens of Nanaimo Oversight Society says the city did the right thing by abolishing the second round but if the city agrees to continue with the project, it should be re-examined and evaluated off that.
“If city council decides to go forward with this project, I think it should be looked at again, he says. “There should be a more sensible version of this project, and maybe we should just look at building a public works building without the green initiatives in mind.
“If we did that perhaps we could spread the cost over five years.”
Figel says, in his opinion, this could be a more plausible plan even if they raise taxes.
“Rather than borrowing the money, maybe we raise the taxes a couple of hundred dollars a year and have the project free and clear,” he says.
It is still unclear what direction the city will take when it comes to building a new public works yard, but members of council maintain the project is still needed and will continue to work on a plan.
