Photo: Josh Dawson Opinions were mixed at an open house Tuesday night hosted by the City of Kamloops offering information about the Build Kamloops initiative and the $275-million plan to build a performing arts centre and arena multiplex. Attendees who spoke to Castanet Kamloops fell on both sides of the project, while others questioned the alternative approval process being used to seek borrowing approval. Catrina Crowe said she attended the event to learn more about the initiative.
She said she was in favour of the project going forward, adding she felt current sports and arts facilities were limited. “We should have done this ages ago, but I think we have a better project now having waited,” Crowe said. Patrick Snell said he thinks the proposed facilities are not necessary and he is opposed to the tax increase.
He said he was also opposed to the alternative approval process. “You're going to have to have between 8,000 to 10,000 people’s signatures to kibosh it or put it on the table for now until it's done properly with a referendum,” he said. “So that's hard to do, but we're going to try and do it anyways.
” The alternative approval process is one of two methods local governments can use to ask the electorate for approval to borrow. It is cheaper than a referendum , and has been used by a number of other municipalities including the City of Kelowna, which obtained approval last year to borrow about $240 million for a series of recreation projects. Dave Mell s.