Frequently Asked Questions

The original Public Works buildings were constructed in the 1960’s and then evolved as the City population grew from less than 45,000 in 1980 to over 100,000 in 2021. Much of the additional space was added using modular temporary facilities, like construction trailers, which are not intended for permanent use. 

The original buildings and additions have exceeded their useful life and it costs a considerable amount to sustain them. Also, the mechanic bays are too small to fit some fleet vehicles including fire and sanitation trucks. 

Substantial efforts have been made to accommodate the growing needs of the community by converting unsuitable spaces or adding additional trailer units to create more room to work. The overall result is a facility that struggles or fails to meet existing operational needs, environmental regulations, as well as building code, accessibility and gender equity considerations. 

With the population of Nanaimo expected to be in the range of 126,000-141,000 in 25 years, there will be a substantial increase in the demand for services that cannot feasibly be met with the existing facility. A business case report was presented to Council on September 22, 2021, which provides rationale for the proposed project, analysis of the proposed project and a review of the alternative options that were looked at.

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Foundational Work - Maximum Borrowing of $40,000,000: Phase One establishes a new Fleet and Maintenance facility, truck wash facilities for use by the City's Operations fleet, and utility servicing which sets the stage for future phases of the project.

Stormwater Management - Maximum Borrowing of $4,500,000: Part of the required utility installation is intended to address existing deficiencies in the stormwater infrastructure at both the City's Public Works Yard and Fire Rescue Station 2.  This will be accomplished by replacing failed infrastructure at these sites and by constructing new facilities which will ensure the system's compliance with current environmental standards.

Fire Training Tower Fuel Conversion - Maximum Borrowing of $1,250,000: This project element is intended to improve the environmental and health effects of operating the Fire Rescue Station 2 Training Tower (the Tower).  The Tower is currently a Class A training system, which means that it uses wood products as fuel to generate realistic fire and smoke during training exercises.  While the Class A system provides an accurate portrayal of smoke and fire during training exercises, it also generates harmful gasses, offensive odours, and quantities of smoke which can negatively affect both the personnel training and the surrounding community.  Converting the tower to a Class B training system, which does not use wood, will greatly lessen the impacts of this facility on the surrounding community while also allowing our fire fighting personnel to participate in a wider variety of training scenarios.

Beban Park Trail - Maximum Borrowing of $2,750,000: This work is proposed to be undertaken in lieu of works and services, nominally consisting of a sidewalk, along the Public Works Yard frontage on Labieux Road as part of the project.  The trail will complete a circular route of trails through Beban Park, integrating existing park facilities with the goal of enhancing the level of accessibility for these facilities without impacting the space already allocated to them.  This trail extension along the Labieux Road border of the park was the most requested park improvement during the public consultation conducted for the Beban Park Master Plan. 

The actual need has been assessed and continues to be assessed; two space needs assessments have been conducted since 2019; a value management exercise has been completed looking at actual requirement, logistics and seeking the best overall use of the site; and this will continue to be refined as the project moves into detailed design. 

Public Works Yard Condition Assessment 

Future phases of the NOC Project are preliminarily anticipated to move into detailed design in 2027/2028. The content of these future phases are not yet finalized and may change depending on the City’s operational needs.

You can read more about the anticipated timing of this and other projects in the Large Capital Projects Overview report that was presented to Council on March 29, 2023, and you can learn more about each element of the Nanaimo Operations Centre project in the Master Plan, as well as what is included in each phase in the Phased Master Plan Amendment.

Future phases of the NOC Project that require borrowing will need consent of electors.

Future phases are required; the entire facility is beyond its useful life and no longer able to meet the needs of the community. However, future decisions will determine timing, final cost and funding.

We looked at a number of options including:

• Purchase or lease an existing building elsewhere.
  • We could not find a suitable site.
• Relocate to a new site.
  • This option would have been more expensive and there isn't much land that meets the operational needs.
• Renovate the existing buildings in the Public Works yard. 
  • Some buildings are suitable for renovation such as the Purchasing, Stores and Truck Barn building and the plan is to renovate them. Others are not suitable because it would cost more to renovate them than to rebuild or they are portable buildings that can't be renovated and are already past their usable life.

“Works & Services” are a requirement in all developments, in this case would be a sidewalk on Labieux Road. We believe there is better value to the community in completing the trail loop in Beban Park instead. This trail was the most requested park improvement by the community during the Beban Park Master Plan consultations. 

Seeking approval to borrow provides the opportunity to build the trail and meet the Bylaw for works and services. The requirement for works & services can be waived by Council, in which case the funds would not be borrowed.

The design phase is part of the project and as we have not received approval from electors to borrow the funding, we cannot move onto design. If we receive approval to borrow the funds, we will begin detailed design with our architect, and then issue tenders for interested contractors to submit bids on.   

We do have concept drawings and a master plan that were completed by an architecture firm, Kasian, and you can find them in the Master Plan as well as an update to it with the proposed phases. 

The concept design was developed to a point which allowed a Quantity Surveyor (a construction industry professional who has expert knowledge on construction costs) to estimate the probable construction costs based on the type of basic materials and functional fit and finish of the building. Due to the preliminary nature of the cost estimate, a large contingency and an allowance for inflation was included in the amount to be borrowed. Should costs be lower, so will the borrowing amount. 

Should all future phases proceed, operational groups from both Public Works, Parks and Facilities will be headquartered here - hence the name. For now, it remains the Public Works Yard.

If we receive approval to borrow the funds, we will begin detailed design with our architect, and then issue tenders for interested contractors to submit bids on. 

We have not hired a contractor for the project because we have not received approval to borrow the funding. This is also the reason for not having detailed plan drawings – the funding for that is included in the borrowing.

The project is to redevelop the outdated and undersized buildings at the Public Works yard and have Public Works and Parks Operations work out of one site. In this first phase, the Fleet and Maintenance facility (mechanic shop) was identified as the priority for replacement as it had the worst score for seismic risk and it is too small. 

The City has over 200 vehicles in our fleet and in addition to garbage and fire trucks, we also have cars, pickup trucks, dump trucks, Zambonis, street and sidewalk sweepers, ride-on lawn mowers, tractors, backhoes and more. The current shop is too small to hold our largest vehicles, such as garbage and fire trucks. If the borrowing is approved, the new fleet building will be larger to fit these vehicles and to create efficiencies for our mechanics. But it won’t be larger than what we need – we are planning for a practical building that fits the work we do. 

Our fleet staff complete around 4,000 work orders per year on City vehicles – from regular maintenance such as oil changes to larger complex jobs such as replacing the mechanical arms that pick up your garbage and recycling – and having an appropriate workspace makes the job easier and safer. The $40 million set aside for this part of the project is broken down as follows: 

• $22 million for construction of the fleet building, a truck wash (the garbage trucks need to be cleaned out each day) and the upgrade and servicing of aging underground utilities on the property.  
• $6.9 million for the project delivery – this includes the cost of design, insurance permitting, third party utilities (hydro and telephone). 
• $5.8 as an allowance for inflation 
• $5.3 million as a contingency (or a cushion)

• Seismic Assessment - 2020 Labieux Garage and Vehicle Repair Shops
• Vehicle Repair Shop Seismic Assessment (RJC)
• Seismic Assessment - 2020 Labieux Vehicle Storage and Sign Shop
• Seismic Assessment - 2020 Labieux PW Purchasing and Stores
• Seismic Assessment - 89 Prideaux Parks and Rec Workshop
• Seismic Assessment - 89 Prideaux Parks and Rec Admin
• Seismic Assessment - 89 Prideaux Parks and Rec Equipment Bays

Public Works is the fourth emergency responder and it is crucial for them to be able to respond in a ‘post-disaster’ situation. A recent example of Public Works responding to an emergency is during the December 2018 windstorm. A number of trees, power lines and power poles were brought down by the wind over many of Nanaimo’s roads making them impassable. Public Works crews were there to clear the roads so that emergency vehicles could pass and BC Hydro crews could get in to restore power. 

Two buildings are proposed to be post-disaster rated – Fleet and Administration – as part of continuity planning to ensure services continue after an emergency. The Fleet building needs to withstand a large earthquake so vehicles that are responding to the emergency such as fire trucks and vehicles that are there to clean up and rebuild during and after an emergency can be maintained. The Administration building will house the backup Emergency Operations Centre.  

The additional cost to make these two buildings post-disaster rated has been forecast at less than 1.5% of the cost of the project.

If we use the entire borrowing amount, the property tax impact for this phase of the project for an average home valued at $808,873 will be about $77 per year for 20 years. 

The intent is to only borrow what is required to complete this project. The maximum borrowing amounts include contingencies for inflation, unforeseen construction challenges, volatile market conditions and other factors which have been included to insulate the City from risk.

The City has a reserve policy that governs how reserves are built up and allocated. The policy also requires a minimum balance be maintained in certain reserves.

When putting together the budget each year, the City’s 10 Year Project Plan is updated. Reserves are a major funding source for the project plan.   

Requirements for using funds from reserves for projects includes making sure reserves are used for their intended purposes and that funds are distributed among the variety of projects required to maintain City services.

A significant portion of the reserves have been allocated to fund projects in the next ten years. 

There are two types of surplus – annual and accumulated – and both have limitations around what they can be used for. Local Governments in BC are legally not allowed to carry a deficit so will often have an annual surplus. The City’s annual surplus is never large enough to fully fund a project of this scope and our reserve policy requires us to first use the annual surplus to top up reserves to make sure they are at their minimum balance.  Any remaining surplus is allocated as per discussions with Council. Examples of how funds have been allocated in the past include funding the City Asset Retirement Obligations and distributing funds to the Property Acquisition Reserve to fund future property purchases. 

The “accumulated surplus” is the total amount of the City’s assets, both financial and non-financial, less any liabilities. When looking at the City’s budget this line item has a big number ($935,801,694 to be exact) attached to it, but it’s more complicated than that. The “accumulated surplus” is made up of three components – Operating Reserves, Statutory Reserves and Investments in Tangible Capital Assets. Here’s what each means:

Investments in tangible capital assets 

Tangible capital assets are the various things the City owns like land, roads, recreation centres, fire trucks, sewer and water systems, etc. The investment in tangible capital assets is calculated as the net book value of the City’s tangible capital assets (cost less accumulated depreciation) less any capital debt (debt incurred to build or purchase a tangible capital asset).  

At $762,309,770, this makes up 81 per cent of the City’s accumulated surplus and cannot be used as a funding source because they are a value, not actual liquid cash. 

Operating and Statutory Reserves

The City has a reserve policy that governs how reserves are built up and allocated. The policy also requires a minimum balance be maintained in certain reserves to help make sure the City has the financial resources available to respond to unanticipated events including the early or unanticipated failure of an asset.  

For example, in November 2022, the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre (NAC) experienced a failure with their boilers. Funding was allocated from the Facility Development Reserve to allow for two new boilers to be ordered and installed in a timely manner.

When putting together the budget each year, the City’s 10 Year Project Plan is updated. Reserves are a major funding source for the project plan.  

Requirements for using funds from reserves for projects includes making sure reserves are used for their intended purposes and that funds are distributed among the variety of projects required to maintain City services.

A significant portion of the reserves have been allocated to fund projects in the next ten years. 

The City’s Operating Reserves make up 10 per cent or $91,636,368 of the accumulated surplus.

Statutory reserves are established by a bylaw and may only be used for the specific purpose for which the funds were collected.   

For example, the Community Works Reserve can only be used for projects that meet the criteria of the program under which the funding was allocated to the City. Another example is the Equipment Depreciation Reserve which is for the replacement of the City’s fleet from cars and pick up trucks to ice resurfacers (a.k.a. “Zambonis”) and fire trucks.

The City’s Statutory Reserves make up nine per cent or $81,855,556 of the accumulated surplus.

The General Asset Management Reserve helps fund the renewal of drainage, transportation, park amenities, facilities and IT equipment that have a replacement value of $2.499 billion (as of 2021), as well it helps funds the City’s portion of transportation, drainage and parks growth projects related to development (DCC projects). 

This reserve is one that has a required minimum balance ($6.1 million in this case), which helps ensure the City has funding available to react in a timely manner to issues that may emerge during the year. The reserve’s projected opening balance for 2024 is $7.1 million and the 2024 contribution from property taxes is budgeted at $12.6 million.  

There is not enough funding available in the reserve to fund Phase 1 of this project and fund other needed infrastructure renewal projects. Projects that will receive funding from the reserve over the next five years include the Beban Complex Roof Replacement, Midtown Gateway, Wexford Creek Drainage Project, Bowen Road Rehab, Drainage Main Replacement Program. It also funds the debt servicing costs for the replacement of Fire Station #1.

The AAP is to seek approval of electors to borrow funds (up to $48.5 million) for Phase 1 of the Nanaimo Operations Centre Project. It is not whether you are in favour of the project, it is whether you are opposed to funding it via long-term borrowing. Council has passed the first three readings of a Bylaw to borrow the funds. The final reading of the Bylaw cannot occur until Council the petition against the Bylaw is settled.

The Province has guidelines for best practices on when to hold an AAP versus a Referendum (Assent Vote).  When Council determined the process to be followed, they considered these best practices and took into account that an essential City service (for example, an RCMP station, Public Works Yard, a water treatment plant, or a fire station) are services that are required to continue to serve the community and are best done through an AAP.  If it fails, the option is not closed and can go to a Referendum at that time.  City amenities such as an Event Centre or Waterfront Walkway may be better suited to a Referendum as they are a “nice to have” vs. “need to have”.

The cost to hold a Referendum is approximately $300,000.  The difference between a Referendum and a General Election is that during the General Election we hold elections for the School Board Trustees so the School District pays 1/3 of the costs.  There is no cost-sharing with a Referendum and it is paid entirely by the taxpayers.  Aside from the cost, it is the capacity.  The entire Legislative Services Department (10 staff) have to put aside their regular duties, or work overtime to get both duties done.  Staffing, training and hiring over 200 workers to work at 12 locations, etc. is very straining on our resources.

Here is how it is calculated (see pdf for further information):

There are notable differences between these three types of participation in the democratic process such as voting methods and what is being voted on. But, there are similarities too like how electors are notified. Have a look below for a comparison of elections, referendums and AAPs. 

No, the notification rules are the same for a referendum as in an petition against (Alternative Approval Process). The City does more than just the official notices. We also provide information on our social channels, website, weekly enewsletter, My Nanaimo This Week, and through open houses. For this AAP, we have also increased advertising in the newspaper, online and on local radio.

The original AAP was null and void due to the administrative error and therefore is non-existent in law. The previous response forms will not be counted and eligible electors may re-submit their response forms.

You only need to submit a response form if you are opposed to borrowing.

According to Provincial guidelines, once an AAP has begun, it must be completed.

Should 10% of the electors submit forms petitioning against the borrowing, Council will have a decision to make. It does not automatically go to a Referendum - Council would have to choose this if they still want to fund the project via borrowing. Council could choose to stop the project, or fund it alternate ways (taxation in one year, a couple of years, etc.).