Nanaimo city council says they’ve learned from the last two failed attempts to use the Alternative Approval Process to borrow $90 million for a new public works yard.
They will try again next month, with some revisions.
Council gave the go-ahead during a special meeting last month where they heard discussions about updates to the borrowing bylaw from corporate services general manager Laura Mercer and director of legislative services Sheila Gurrie.
Photo credit: Justin Baumgardner, VistaRadio
Some of the major adjustments mentioned during the two-hour Council meeting weighed heavily on a new communication and engagement strategy, and according to a staff report, will ensure the city offers tours of the current facility, social media posts, online advertising, flyers and radio.
Mayor Leonard Krog says with this round and the improved communication strategy, the city is hoping Nanaimo residents will come to learn how beneficial the project will be and give electoral consent to borrow.
“With more public advertising people will truly understand what this is all about,” Krog says. “I think that some of the public reaction by a small minority of people in Nanaimo was based on ignorance on what was being proposed, the timeline surrounded, the necessity of it. All those things.
“This will be a much more robust campaign that will hopefully see the public satisfied that it’s in the public interest.”
Nanaimo lawyer Sandford Bartlett says it’s a good thing the city is stepping up and making sure city residents are informed, but with the deadline approaching there is still no real information on what is going to happen going into the Alternative Approval launch date.
“So, they’re spending all this money advertising and sending out flyers to everyone in Nanaimo, but they (Council} hasn’t made anyone aware of what’s going to be in the flyer,” Bartlett says. “They don’t know how it’s going to be perceived by the public, but there is a complete advertising campaign.
“There was nothing concrete about what type of things they’re going to be saying in this campaign have been disclosed.”
Bartlett says in his opinion using the Alternative Approval Process is still not the preferred method to facilitate the project, and since a referendum is being used in other projects coming up later this year it would have made sense to include the public works yard.
“The city is having a referendum in the spring, which is only a few months from what they’re proposing to be the end date of this AAP,” Bartlett says. “So, are they not going to put this borrowing process into a referendum?”
Photo credit: Justin Baumgardner, VistaRadio
The Alternative Approval Process is expected to begin Sept. 18, and end on Oct. 31 at 4:30 p.m.
