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Referendum day is coming up fast and soon North Okanagan residents will be asked whether or not they would like to borrow $13,250,000 to finance the construction of a second ice sheet at Kal Tire Place in Vernon.
On Saturday, November 28th, residents of Vernon, Coldstream, and electoral areas B and C will be asked to vote on the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) borrowing the funds to expand and renovate the arena.
According to the City of Vernon, the Civic Arena is almost 80 years old and many of the facility’s operating systems are deteriorating and at risk of “imminent failure.”
The new facility would include a regulation 200’ by 85’ sheet of ice, seating for 400 spectators as well as a lobby, change rooms, washrooms, and mechanical rooms.
The newly renovated arena would also include an area for dryland training, as well as feature spaces for public use.
The cost for the required renovations to keep the Civic Arena functional for at least five years is $5.6 million, but to keep it operational for 10 years with the current ice sheet, it will cost $10.78 million.
Lastly, it will cost $13.88 million to upgrade the arena and include a regulation-size ice sheet.
Breaking the numbers down from the taxpayers’ perspective, annual operating costs for the civic arena in 2016 are budgeted to be about $196,706.
Using an example of $350,000 as the assessed value of a home in Greater Vernon, and based only on improvements to the property, the cost per household for the new arena will be about $24 per year for the term of the loan.
Should the project move forward, the new twinned facility will incur significant savings, about $150,000, when it comes to operating costs, said the City of Vernon.
The Farmers’ Market will be implicated, but the city said they will be working with the market committee to find an alternative location to hold the market while the facility is being designed and built.
Moreover, the site is already city-owned and current zoning bylaws will allow for such construction.
If residents vote in favour of the arena, the Civic Arena will still be required as a sheet of ice for at least three years.
The provincial government requires approval for all long-term borrowing, which is why the RDNO will be moving forward with the referendum.
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