PETERS: One big — though expensive — step forward for Kamloops

In 2015, residents were asked whether they supported borrowing $49 million to help fund a facility that carried a price tag of $90 million.

In a decade, that price tag has essentially doubled. The initial plan also included a 350-stall parkade.

That 2015 borrowing plan was voted down.

In the ensuing years, there were plenty in the community who carried the torch for the arts centre, even though they knew Kamloops had missed a golden opportunity.

It turns out we could have saved tens of millions of dollars by saying ‘yes’ the first time.

We won’t get those tens of millions back, just like we won’t get those 10 years back.

Even 2015 wasn’t the first time a performing arts centre was pitched for Kamloops.

In 1987, voters were presented with a proposal for a major waterfront development that would have included a showcase arena for the Blazers, a convention centre, a museum and yes, a performing arts centre.

The price tag for all those facilities? $50 million, with taxpayers deciding whether the city should borrow $10 million on long-term financing.

Now, 1987 was a while ago but it wasn’t that long. It wasn’t the Great Depression, when $10 million could probably have bought you every property in Kamloops.

The voters, of course, said ‘no’ and the project died.

The next year, it was just the arena that was at question for the city and while that moved forward, the cost had crept up to $23 million for the arena alone.

Fast forward to 2015 — and then to today.

No one could have predicted the astronomical price increase for the performing arts centre in just 10 years.

Even so, no project has ever become cheaper just by putting it off for a while.

While it’s perfectly understandable to want to keep taxes at a reasonable increase every year — as we discussed last week — it’s also important to take opportunities to improve our city when they present themselves — to strike while the iron is hot.

This project will represent a big step forward for Kamloops and — like Sandman Centre, like the Tournament Capital Centre — one day, we’ll look back and wonder how we ever got along without it.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by James Peters

PETERS: One big — though expensive — step forward for Kamloops

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