Build Kamloops select committee struck, mayor rejects invitation

MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com

City council has struck a select committee to make recommendations to council on how to roll out the Build Kamloops program.

Build Kamloops is an initiative of council that aims to implement needed infrastructure projects identified in the city’s recreational master plan via a mass borrowing campaign. The infrastructure being sought via Build Kamloops includes a performingarts centre, a new leisure pool on the North Shore, additional ice rinks, a large curling club facility to accommodate consolidation of both current curling clubs, a new RCMP detachment and a new civic administration building.

At its June 27 meeting, council voted 8-1 to form a five-member council select committee with four engagement groups — consisting of senior administration as chairs, city staff and local agencies and/or potentially members of the public — feeding ideas up to it.

The committee will consist of councillors Dale Bass, Kelly Hall, Margot Middleton, Katie Neustaeter and Mike O’Reilly, who will serve as committee chair.

Councillors all accepted nominations they received from each other to serve on the committee, but when asked by Coun. Mike O’Reilly to be part of the group, Mayor Hamer-Jackson turned down the invitation on the grounds that the format did not include enough public participation.

“To me this is council feeding council,” Hamer-Jackson said. “You’ve got your five councillors who are going to be feeding to nine councillors at the end of the day … I just don’t agree and I believe we need to have more citizens of the community and professionals involved.”

Earlier in the meeting Hamer-Jackson sanded CAO David Trawin how many members of the public would be included in the working groups, to which Trawin responded numbers had not yet been set.

“That would depend on the working group,” Trawin said, noting some may include more members of the public than others depending on what each working groups decide.

Hamer-Jackson suggested having “10 or 15” members of the community who are professionals and experts in the respective working group spheres included on one select committee, rather than numerous working group model.

Trawin said staff’s recommendation for the proposed setup was based on past committee structures. He also said having multiple groups would mean more public participation by having experts in each field in their own working group examining multiple topics at the same time whereas with one committee, participation could get crowded.

He also said the select committee may also end up being privy to confidential city information.

The Build Kamloops select committee will determine locations for the facilities, the process of going to either a referendum or counter petition to borrow funds, project scope, funding, facility prioritization and community involvement. The committee will also be supported by four working groups tasked with reporting to the committee in the areas of finance, user engagement, concept developments and communication.

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