KAMLOOPS — The new North Shore Community Policing Office is not yet a year old – but RCMP are already proposing some improvements to the $2 million building.
A proposal for upgrades was presented to Kamloops City Council this week, upgrades could relieve pressure on the Battle Street detachment.
RCMP Superintendent Brad Mueller presented a list of recommendations, saying the top priority would be to move the canine unit out of the Battle Street detachment and into the five-month-old building.
“The existing office space that we have for the dogs is really cramped for them,” Mueller said. “It would provide, with what’s being proposed in the new community safety office, would provide a better service delivery and a much more workable space, not only for our regular member but also for our dogs.”
The proposal includes the creation of office space for the three local dog teams, and a possible dog-wash station.
Other improvements to the building would include work on the roof over the garage section, increased storage for bikes and equipment, and a potential mechanical bay.
“Certainly we would be working with the city in coming up with a timetable that would work with the funding and a time that it would take to make those improvements,” Mueller said. “Certainly we wouldn’t expect them to be done within a couple months, it would probably even be looking at a multi-year plan to do some of that.”
The plan is in its preliminary stage, and there are still plenty of details to hammer out as far as financing the project.
Director of Corporate Services and Community Safety David Duckworth says the improvements will be part of 2017 budget discussions.
“It’s going to be in the order of $300,000 – $500,000 for the North Shore upgrades, but we’re still fine-tuning what those budgets will look like.”
Duckworth says a healthy police reserve could provide some assistance in funding the project.
“Some of those funds will be earmarked for additional officers that were approved by council a couple years ago as well as some other improvements that may be required on the south shore detachment so we have to be cognizant of how much money we have, but we’re looking to see if there are funds within our reserve fund balance for policing to accommodate that budget requirement.”
