Kamloops city council will be asked to approve a referendum question and date for a proposed performing arts centre next week.

The date for the public vote is proposed to happen on March 28 or April 4.

The question will ask, “Are you in favor of the City of Kamloops borrowing up to $45 million to construct a Kamloops Centre for the Arts?”

Mayor Ken Christian says it will be just like any municipal election.

“So we will have to identify polls, have to do all of the advertising, have to run the mechanics of the election and make sure the integrity of the election is intact. And certainly our staff in Leg Services are experts in this, so that will be well taken care of.”

Next week, council will also be asked to approve spending up to $35,000 on a communications plan for the referendum. That money would come out of council’s contingency fund.

Council has unanimously supported the facility to be built at a property that is currently a parking lot at 4th and Seymour. It is expected to cost $70 million if approved, and at least $25 million is expected to be fundraised. That includes a $3-million-dollar donation from philanthropists Ron and Rae Fawcett.

If approved, construction would likely start in the summer of 2021, with an opening of fall 2023.