Building a Stronger Kelowna Initiative
The Building a Stronger Kelowna initiative is a group of projects that work together to build deeper community connections across our city. Stay up to date with the latest plans and progress through the Building a Stronger Kelowna quarterly e-update.
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On October 16, 2023, Council adopted the Recreation and Activity Centres Loan Authorization Bylaw.
The funding model for this project has approved debt financing of $241.32 million with the remainder funded through a combination of reserve, grants, and taxation funding. The total City budget taxation increase is expected to remain in the 3.91% -4.83% range over the next five years.
| PRC redevelopment | $180M |
| Parkinson rec park site work | $62M |
| Activity centres for all ages in Glenmore and Mission | $36M |
| Rutland recreation park optimization | $4.5M |
| Partnership with UBCO & OC | $5M |
| Total Project Costs | $287.5M |
| Approved Financing | $241M |
Debt financing is considered an equitable and efficient funding source as it spreads payment, and the associated tax impacts, for a community amenity over the generations that will benefit, not relying on current residents to front the bulk of the costs. To fund the debt servicing costs of borrowing to support this initiative, the strategy uses reserve, grant, and taxation funding, as well as new revenues expected from the City’s legacy funds as part of the new endowment funding model.
Efforts to seek out offset opportunities will continue over the duration of the project including potential grants, alternative revenue streams and partnerships. As such, the project and borrowing amount is considered top limit and inclusive of projected growth, inflation, and interest rates.
By combining capital taxation funding, reserve applications, grant funding, and borrowing, we can ensure the financial sustainability of the project while also providing much-needed recreational opportunities for residents.
Activity Centres:
Over 1,300 resident contributions will help shape a shared vision and functional plan for the future Glenmore and Mission Activity Centres. Engagement spanned approximately four weeks in November and December 2023 and included a variety of options to provide input, with both online and in-person formats available for participation. Engagement included a focus on how residents see themselves using these future spaces, what perceived service gaps may exist in the area, and understanding what residents appreciate about their neighbourhood today.
Redevelopment of PRC:
As the redevelopment of PRC and development of a functional plan has been ongoing, engagement conducted to date is outlined below including a statistically valid survey conducted by Ipsos in 2021:
In addition, public and sector engagement was a key component of the development of the Indoor Recreation Facilities Strategy in 2022. The Indoor Recreation Facilities Strategy included city-wide public engagement is part of a series of strategic facility plans and frameworks helping the City to make informed decisions regarding new or renovated facilities. Kelowna’s Recreation Facilities are in different stages and ages of life, and by understanding the needs in the community paired with existing facility data of our recreation facilities – it helps to better prioritize and plan.
