“Civic Places and Spaces” coming soon

NEWS RELEASE

The City is in the final stages of an external review of its aging assets and amenities. The review was initiated in 2019 in support of City Council’s Asset & Amenity Council Priority identified for this term. The results will provide the information needed to create a long-term plan for City assets that is financially sustainable and ensures the continued delivery of services. Colliers Project Leaders were retained to work with staff on the review and the findings are expected to be shared with Council in the next few weeks.

“The reality is that we have more assets than we have funding available and many of these assets will reach the end of their service life in the next 10 to 15 years unless further investment is made,” said Penticton Mayor, John Vassilaki. “We can’t simply raise taxes to keep these assets operational, we need to make good decisions for the future and the results of this review will provide us with the information we need to develop a responsible plan.”

The scope of the review includes all of the City’s general assets such as civic buildings, transportation systems, parks, and recreational and cultural facilities. As part of the review, these assets were evaluated to determine if there is a need or opportunity to enhance, repurpose, decommission or dispose of the assets.

They were also analyzed to determine options for the future of the asset and the service it provides. With the completion of the review, the City will initiate a community engagement process to inform residents and stakeholder groups about the findings of the review and involve them in finalizing the long-term plan for Penticton’s ‘Civic Places and Spaces’.

“We’ve been talking about the need to plan for our aging assets since 2016. We’ve done a good job on addressing the needs of the utilities and now it is time to address our public buildings and general assets,” said Mayor Vassilaki. “Council is looking forward to seeing the results of the review. We are expecting to see some pretty bold recommendations for the future and we will be open to these discussions. This will be one of the most important conversations the City has with the community this term and I encourage residents to get involved.”

More information about the review and the opportunities for involvement will be shared once it is completed. In advance, residents can view infographics and a video about the Asset & Amenity Management Project as well as background materials at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca. Citizens who are interested in following this work are encouraged to register with shapeyourcitypenticton.ca and subscribe to the newsletter.