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Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen examines sharing building with City of Penticton

RDOS building and City Hall are old and too small for present needs
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The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is operating out of a building constructed in 1981. The building is now considered too small to meet the regional district’s present needs. (Black Press file photo)

The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen is considering developing a shared facility with the City of Penticton.

At present, the regional district owns a building at 101 Martin Street in Penticton, which contains its building on two adjoining lots.

The lots have a combined size of .38 hectares, and the single storey building has a floor space of 1,000 square metres.

The building was constructed in 1981. In 2014, a structural assessment and geotechnical assessment were conducted and renovations were done in 2015 to 2016.

The building is no longer large enough for the regional district’s needs.

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“The board room is too small for members, staff, public, delegations and the media; the public reception area and common areas are limited; storage has been exceeded; the requirement for meeting space has been exceeded and work spaces are too tightly packed to be efficient or to provide a welcoming environment,” a report from the regional district states.

The City of Penticton is facing similar concerns about their facility at 171 Main St. The city is working on a relocation study this year to develop a long-range plan for its facility.

Donny van Dyk, Penticton’s chief administrative officer, said Penticton is also in need of a new city hall building.

The Penticton city hall was constructed in 1964 and is now too small to meet the city’s needs. In addition, there are repairs and upgrades needed.

“We have several million dollars in deferred maintenance and infrastructure improvements,” van Dyk said.

Sharing a space would mean one board room and a shared space for communications equipment, rather than two separate rooms and two separate sets of technology equipment, he said. A shared space could also lead to shared services in the future, he added.

While the regional district board has agreed to examine a joint space agreement, regional district directors said they are not ready to commit to such a plan.

“I think we need to consider all the options,” said Subrina Monteith, director for Area I.

“What are the other options out there?” asked Tim Roberts, director for Area G.

Board chair Karla Kozakevich said the decision to examine the joint use idea does not mean the board is committed to follow this course of action..

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John Arendt

About the Author: John Arendt

John Arendt has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years. He has a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Journalism degree from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute.
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