Wow, Penticton.

In recent months, I had feared that Penticton had strayed too far from the Mayor Dan Ashton days of tax freezes, better union deals, management cuts and core reviews.

And then this Penticton Herald story came along. From the Joe Fries article:

Faced with an eight-figure repair bill for city-owned buildings, council on Monday directed staff to explore the possibility of replacing Memorial Arena with a new rink and moving some key civic facilities into the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.

Council was told at a committee of the whole meeting that 25 city-owned buildings, averaging 40 years of age, will require $31 million in repairs and upgrades over the next decade, according to a 2013 study by an outside consultant.

“We have, in my view, too many facilities with too many costs associated with them in terms of our capital expenditures,” said operations director Mitch Moroziuk, who suggested consolidating or closing some facilities to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

He said the 36-year-old convention centre alone will run taxpayers $882,000 a year in the future, after taking into consideration such factors as average annual losses of $200,000 and $4 million in required upgrades.

Noting those costs, plus the decline in convention business and increase in competition, Moroziuk suggested moving the library, museum, art gallery and City Hall – which need a combined $7 million in repairs – into the PTCC. The vacant buildings would then be sold and the convention business left to other facilities here and in other communities.

Okay, a lot of interesting stuff to digest here.

First, good on Penticton staff for being honest about the state of facilities in their city. They have too many, they’re all aging, they’ve been roughly maintained, and a $31 million+ bill is in the offing.

Second, they have a convention centre that is bleeding money, because its business has declined – and the private sector has stepped up to compete.

So a staffer has suggested something radical (well, radical for municipal government):

• Get out of the money-losing convention business (YES!)
• Reconfigure that building to house the library, museum, gallery and city hall (YES! YES!)
• Sell all the old buildings and save taxpayers millions in future maintenance (YES! YES! YES!)

I can’t recall the last time I saw such a bold, money-saving plan come out of a municipal staff. I sincerely hope Penticton council looks at this idea seriously and moves ahead with the money-saving plan. It would restore their reputation as a cost-conscious city council – something that has been withering the past couple of years.