Second AAP for Nanaimo Operations Centre starts

Brandon Miller, manager of fleet operations for the City of Nanaimo, says the current maintenance building at the Public Works Yard built in the 1960s is too small to handle large vehicles like garbage trucks and fire trucks, and needs to be replaced. Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM Jan. 16, 2024.

The City of Nanaimo is holding an Alternative Approval Process starting on January 18 to seek approval from voters for a $48.5 million loan for the first phase of the Nanaimo Operations Centre which would replace the aging Public Works Yard on Labieux Rd.

This is the second time an AAP has been held for the project after a previous attempt was found to be invalid due to improper notice being given by the city.

Provincial law requires municipalities that want to take out substantial long-term loans to either seek the consent of the voters through a referendum, or through what’s known as an Alternative Approval Process, or AAP.

Phase One of the planned rebuild of the Public Works Yard includes converting the fire training tower to burn natural gas instead of wood pallets, which city staff say blows toxic smoke into the yard. Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM

During the AAP, if at least 10 per cent of voters who are opposed to the loan submit an elector response from, the borrowing bylaw fails and council must either abandon taking out a loan or put it to a referendum vote.

Those in favor of the loan are not required to take any action during the alternative approval process.

Bill Sims, manager of engineering and public works with the City of Nanaimo, says that the buildings at the Public Works Yard need to be replaced and renovating them doesn’t make sense operationally or financially.

“The bottom line is when we start looking at it overall we've got facilities that are past their useful life,” he said.

The top priority for phase one of the operations centre is building a new fleet maintenance building.

Brandon Miller, manager of fleet operations, spoke to reporters during a tour of the Public Works Yard on Tuesday.

A garbage truck awaits servicing at the Nanaimo Public Works Yard on Jan. 16, 2024. The truck can’t fit inside the bay and allow access to the stairs for mechanics to work underneath so the rear of it sticks out the bay door. City staff say the fleet maintenance building has reached the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced. Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM.

“We've got some major challenges with this facility. As you can see with some of our larger vehicles, our refuse trucks or fire trucks actually don't fit in the bays.”

In addition to not being able to fit large vehicles in the bays for maintenance, Miller told reporters that mechanics are squeezed for space both while working and female workers have to change in a trailer designated as the yard’s First Aid site.

Sims says city staff understand that $48.5 million for the first phase of the project, and an estimated $163 million for the complete plan, is a big ask.

“I heard the comment ‘the price is ridiculous. I don't like the price.’ Guess what? Staff doesn't like the price either. I have a close acquaintance, who’s trying to build a very modest home. The build cost from the builder is $750,000. For a very modest home, it's like the prices of things have gone stupid.”

One of the critics of the project is lawyer Sandy Bartlett who is part of the City of Nanaimo Oversight Society.

Sandy Bartlett, from the City of Nanaimo Oversight Society, said that the city should hold a referendum on the proposed Operations Centre instead of an Alternative Approval Process. Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM Jan. 16, 2024.

“The city has options, they can have a referendum, which is what we think they should be doing now,” he said. "Or they can skip the referendum process and just simply pay for it out of general revenue funds that they raise every year on their budget. The option that I think they should do is go back to the drawing table and perhaps use other methods to try and refurbish the buildings.”

City councillor Sheryl Armstrong says that the buildings in the current public works yard don't meet the needs of a growing city.

“They’re in disrepair,” she said. “Those were built back in the 1960s [when] our population was closer to 20,000, now we're almost at 100,000. So it just not does not meet the city's needs anymore. We have to rebuild. One of the concerns I've heard from people is they think it's a Taj Mahal and I don't believe that's the case.”

Laura Mercer, the city's finance director said if the AAP for the Operations Centre passes, it will mean that the average homeowner in Nanaimo will have to pay about $77 a year over 20 years, adding a tenth of a per cent to this year’s property tax increase.

A protester opposed to the Nanaimo Operations Centre protests in front of the Public Works Yard on Jan. 16, 2024. Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM

However, if the AAP fails and city council decides to raise property taxes this year to fund the project, it could mean the average household is hit up for an additional $933 on their property tax bill bringing the 2024 property tax increase to a whopping 43.3 per cent.

If a property tax increase for the project was done over four years it would result in an 10.5 per cent tax increase in 2024, 15.1 per cent in 2025, 10.9 per cent in 2026, an 11.4 per cent decrease in 2027 and a 2.1 per cent increase in 2028.

People who want more information about the proposed operations centre and the AAP can go to getinvolvednanaimo.ca. Elector response forms are available on the city’s website and can be returned to city hall in person or by mail until 4:30 p.m. on February 20.

A special governance and priorities committee meeting by city council on the Nanaimo Operations Centre AAP will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 22 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.

With files from Joe Pugh.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.