File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Victor Kaisar

Another AAP in Kamloops

Another AAP likely as City of Kamloops buys nearly 10 acres of land for expanded civic operations yard

Aug 7, 2025 | 5:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops residents will be asked for approval to use long-term debt to finance the purchase of a nearly 10-acre plot of land that will eventually be home to an expanded civic operations yard.

The City of Kamloops says it has already bought the 9.77 acre plot of “flat, easily developed, industrial-zoned land” at 965 McMaster Way for $16.625 million. It’s located adjacent to the existing civic operations yard, and it is expected to accomodate 25 to 50 years of growth for the city’s operations.

In a statement, Joe Luison, the city’s acting civic operations director, said the new space will be used to store additional equipment and machines that are used to clear snow, collect solid waste and maintain parks. He also said it will store lamp posts, pipes and other raw materials used to build and maintain utilities and roads in Kamloops.

“The benefits of securing this type of land in this location cannot be overstated,” Luison said, in the statement. “It’s really a remarkable opportunity. This provides certainty for our operations and allows us to plan for growth on site rather than at satellite properties throughout the city, which will provide significant operational efficiencies as we expand.”

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Deputy Mayor for August Bill Sarai said the purchase of the property “is an investment in the future of Kamloops and our residents.”

“The decisions we make now are always made through a long-term lens, ensuring we are purposeful and deliberate in planning for the growth of our community,” Sarai said.

The city also says Westcan Transport will continue to occupy about seven acres of the McMaster Way site for the foreseeable future as the entire property is “not required for current operation levels.”

Work to expand parking and laydown areas on the other 2.77 acres of the property has begun, as has planning work to determine how the civic operations team will expand into the entire site over the next two decades as current facilities reach capacity.

AAP details to come

According to the city, the land was bought using “short-term internal funding sources.” This fall, residents will be asked to move that amount — as well as $125,000 for the initial site work — to long-term debt using the alternative approval process (AAP).

If the approval is granted, the city said the annual debt servicing cost for the long-term debt is estimated at $1,038,039, though a news release notes that amount would be offset by $277,172 in annual lease payments from Westcan.

“We’re looking to finance a long-term investment with long-term borrowing, just like taking out a mortgage on a house,” Sarai added. “This means that residents today don’t need to fund the entire purchase through a big tax hike, and the cost can be amortized over the next 30 years.”

While details about the AAP have not yet been made public, in late July Kamloops council approved a motion by mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson to direct staff to look into the costs of a community-wide mailout that would inform voters of future AAPs, following concerns raised after the AAP connected to Build Kamloops.

In B.C., municipalities can gain public assent for major borrowing by either surveying voters in a referendum or by conducting an AAP, which requires 10 per cent of voters to formally oppose borrowing. If that happens, the municipality must either cancel the initiative or launch a referendum.

City staff say if the upcoming AAP is not successful, they will return to council with alternative financing options.