During their November 5, 2019 meeting, Penticton City Council took steps to deliver on its strategic priority of investing in Asset and Amenity Management by giving its support to a project charter identifying the scope of work staff will focus on to ensure the services the City provides its residents and visitors are reliable and cost effective.
“At the present time, the City has more assets and amenities than funds available to sustainably manage them,” said Chief Administrative Officer, Donny van Dyk. “To resolve this challenge, the City required a planned approach to ensure the $10 to15 million the City spends annually to maintain and renew the City’s assets is effective in meeting the needs of its citizens”.
With a proposed budget of $378,000 in 2020 and $205,000 in 2021, the project involves reviewing the City’s assets and amenities and will consider:
• the relevance of existing amenities to the community,
• how best to engage the community to both educate and solicit their understanding of the options and funding needed,
• new and innovative ways to leverage amenities,
• new funding and management models,
• opportunities to enhance, re-purpose or decommission, and
• impacts of changing federal and provincial funding programs supporting certain amenities.
“In September Council directed staff to come back with a project budget and associated project charter to guide the necessary work needed to undertake this strategic priority”, said the City’s Chief Financial Officer, Jim Bauer. “With Council giving their support to the approach and scope of work we’ve recommended, staff are now ready to proceed on this critical project”.
Collecting information to understand amenity conditions, costs, revenues collected, and usage is the first step to moving this project forward, which is intended to occur in the first quarter of 2020. To assist staff in arriving at recommendations, a program of stakeholder and public engagement will be undertaken at various milestones throughout the project. While full implementation of this project is expected midway through 2021, City staff will immediately implement any quick wins it identifies throughout all phases of work.
“Council is pleased that the foundation planning associated with delivering this strategic priority is now underway,” said Penticton Mayor, John Vassilaki. “The charter that Council approved establishes the necessary goals and objectives for this project, along with a workable approach, timeline and resources.
