Kamloops City Council has voted to move forward with an Alternative Approval Process (AAP) to borrow nearly $151 million for the construction of a new RCMP detachment downtown — a project that city officials and police say is both overdue and essential.
The proposed facility, planned for the Battle Street location, would replace the aging RCMP building currently in use. According to city staff, the existing police services structure no longer meets the standards outlined in the municipal policing unit agreement. Constructed in the 1990s to serve 85 officers, the building is now home to more than 150 staff and has surpassed its operational capacity.
Superintendent Jeff Pelley said the facility has been “over capacity for 25 years,” leading to inefficiencies in operations, space limitations, and problems with forensics and evidence storage. “Operational capacity is a great concern,” he told council.
The new building proposal includes a five-storey, 120,700-square-foot facility built to the west of the current location. The project would also involve demolishing the old brick structure and constructing a new parking facility. City staff determined that renovating the existing structure wouldn’t sufficiently address long-term policing needs.
Council had previously approved the development of a borrowing bylaw for the project, but the method of seeking voter approval remained undecided — until now. Staff recommended the AAP as the more cost-effective route, estimating it would cost just $12,000 compared to approximately $200,000 for a city-wide referendum.
“Given the RCMP’s strong emphasis on public safety and council’s increasing the number of RCMP members in the Kamloops detachment, this project aligns well with the more cost-effective alternative approval process,” a city staff report noted.
However, the choice to use an AAP sparked debate. Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson and Councillor Katie Neustaeter were the only votes against the motion. The mayor argued that putting the borrowing question on the ballot during the next municipal election might engage more voters. “If you are going to have a $150 million borrow on the table, you might just get people involved,” he said.
Councillor Margot Middleton disagreed, pointing to historically low voter turnout. “To say that this goes to a general election and this is everybody’s chance to vote… is no guarantee that the broad taxpayer base will actually come out and vote on it, because they don’t.”
Councillor Dale Bass emphasized the urgency of moving forward after more than two decades of discussion across multiple councils. “I think that we need to actually move forward here because we have been sitting on this for years,” she said.
Financial Services Manager Lewis Hill warned that delays would only drive up costs. “As we keep delaying this, it is just going to grow in funds,” he said.
This is not the first time Kamloops has used an AAP for a major civic project. Last summer, council used the process to approve borrowing up to $275 million for a performing arts centre and multiplex. That decision drew criticism from some residents and even sparked an unsuccessful legal challenge, though it ultimately saved the city significant costs compared to a full referendum.
With council’s decision now final, the AAP will begin. If more than 10 percent of eligible voters submit formal objections during the process, the city will be required to hold a binding referendum on the borrowing plan.
In addition to the RCMP project, city staff are also seeking direction on borrowing for several other initiatives, including road upgrades, utilities work, and the $16-million purchase of a revenue-generating property at 965 McMaster Way to support future expansion of the Civic Operations Yard
