Kamloops City Council is looking to the spring of next year when the city will hold a referendum on a new Performing Arts Centre.

With debt coming off the books soon, the project provides an opportunity to borrow new money without increasing taxes.

Some opponents have said they would rather see a reduction in taxes or an increase in contribution to reserves, but Mayor Ken Christian says the people that don’t like the concept are going to find any reason to vote no.

“In reality every municipality has debt and we do have rainy day funds and our finances are in good shape in Kamloops. This is an opportunity where we’re not obligating future gas tax funding or community works funding like the last proposal had. We’re not looking at an increase in taxes for the borrowing.”

Christian says the project will only get more expensive the longer we wait to build it and he calls it a unique situation with TCC debt coming off the books.

“There would be an opportunity to invest in the arts and I think that’s a good investment not only for the arts community, but for the business community. It really speaks to some of the goals that this council has put in place in terms of our strategic plan, wanting Kamloops to be more livable.”

Christian believes a referendum gives the community a chance to engage with the project, understand it and be proud of it and he says a new centre would align with council’s objectives.

“The time has come. It’s right now, is the monarch that the [Kamloops Centre for the Arts] society is using. And that is purposeful because the last time this was put out to the public they weren’t necessarily opposed to it, they said ‘not yet.'”

Christian says citizens consistently say they want two things, more uniform services and more support for the arts.

The exact referendum question has not yet been decided and the issue will likely come back to council before the Christmas break.