The current, temporary, West Kelowna City Hall at the Mount Boucherie Community Centre The opening of West Kelowna’s new city hall and library building has been pushed back to 2023 due to global supply chain challenges. The council will hear next week that they and staff will continue to occupy the Mount Boucherie Community Center until spring 2023. When construction on the town hall began, it had an occupancy date of December 2022. “Since the beginning of 2022, global supply chain conditions have changed significantly, as a result of the pandemic affecting major infrastructure projects locally and around the world,” special project manager Mark Roberts said in a report to the board. “The City Hall/Library project is also subject to the effects of these material shortages and delays, labor shortages and other factors that cause changes to the project schedule.” While timelines have been stretched, budgets have not so far. Some bid packages for the projects have actually come down in budget, and at this point, the city says that portion of the $18 million total cost remains unchanged. Roberts says things remain somewhat up in the air, and any potential budget adjustments and a definitive completion date will be determined when supply chain issues are better understood in the coming months. The report notes that the public consultation on the restoration of the Mount Boucherie Community Center has just concluded and the next steps on this issue will come before the council in August.
