By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle

The seemingly straightforward process of presenting a summary Infrastructure Strategy document for Osoyoos Council approval had a triggering effect for at least one councilor due to a reference to the “future Town Hall”.   

The one page document presented by Rod Risling, Osoyoos CAO was intended as a strategic guide for  “forward-looking priorities”.

The idea being that it will assist the administration in planning, asset management, and ensure fiscal responsibility when addressing maintenance of the town’s aging infrastructure. It’s also meant to help provide clarity to the public on infrastructure priorities.

These priorities have already been established by Council over successive weeks and months and have been gathered together in summary form which is broken down into four sections: Infrastructure, Development (limiting urban sprawl), Recreation (maintaining current services) and Town Facilities.

The document gives “clarity on what the future vision is,” Risling said. “It’s important for the public to know that this is a very difficult process because council doesn’t have all the information, it doesn’t know the status of our asset management plan and a bunch of other pieces,” he said.

“But this at least enables some goal posts… [and] enables the administration to prepare to initiate information so that some of the pieces can start to come together.”

But zooming in on the “future Town Hall” line item in the Town Facilities column, Councilor Johnny Cheong asked: “Do we need that point there?”

“I feel like we are far from having that conversation of building a Town Hall at this point with all the capital projects we have right now. Is it worthy of our consideration at this point when it will be added in a couple of years,” he pondered.

In response Risling said: “I know the Town Hall is a sensitive topic, it’s sensitive here and in every jurisdiction where they’re looking at replacing the Town Hall.”

But he noted that it is already in the current 5-year plan and the ageing building – which recently needed beams added to prop up a sagging floor – will need significant investment to either retrofit the current structure or build a new one.

“Without question it will need a bigger jolt of funding to bring it up to current standards or a whole newbuild,” he said, adding that retrofitting can often cost nearly as much as a new build.

Risling also said it was important to have the statement that a future Town Hall “can be located off of Main Street” because that opens up the options as they come along.

“Knowing that it is an option for this building to be on another street is important, especially as we look at multi-use facilities,” he said in reference to previous discussions that have germinated ideas of including housing and facilities like a medical clinic, for instance.

In the end council approved adoption of the strategic document.

The first glimpse of a possible new town hall was unveiled in July of 2021 when Sahuri + Partners Architecture presented the Space Needs Assessment & Pre-Design Report to council.

At three storeys and a  $10 million price tag, “shock and awe” could well describe the reaction from many Osoyoos tax payers. But as was discussed at that council meeting the report was essentially a sort of “best option” from which a feasible project would be whittled down.

The main purpose, according to then-CAO Alan Chabot, was to kickstart the process of dialogue and discussion around what is desired, needed, and possible.

A total of $4.5 million is currently allocated in the capital plan for a new town hall and various sources of grant funding would also be explored.