EDITORIAL – The season’s over for the KamLoop; has it been worth it?
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
SO THE SEASON is over for the KamLoop, as we at ArmchairMayor.ca have dubbed it. (It has a little more pizzazz than “Riverside Park Skating Loop” or “Riverside Park Outdoor Skating Facility.”)
It had a good run. Formal post mortems will be held in the coming weeks to look at its successes and failures but the bottom line question is, “Was it worth it?”
After all, $7.16 million ain’t cheap, even though it didn’t come directly out of the pockets of local taxpayers. And there were some glitches, such as a number of falls that required repairs at RIH, and an early absence of skate and helmet rentals.
An ArmchairMayor.ca poll indicated a roughly 60-40 split in opinion, with the bigger number feeling the loop isn’t worth it. Such online polls are limited and not scientific, of course, but this does indicate a split in opinion.
What is the definition of whether a public amenity is “worth it”? Is there a dollar limit? For example, can a $7.16-million skating pond be compared to an arts or sports facility costing hundreds of millions?
Is it different depending on which level of government is paying? Is one form of recreation superior to another?
Hundreds of people greatly enjoyed the outdoor skating experience at the KamLoop. Those folks surely feel it’s been “worth it.” Not everyone likes hockey, or racquet sports, or swimming, or trail walking, but everyone pays for them because they require community investment.
The KamLoop will continue to be enjoyed for many years. I’d say the KamLoop was worth it.
Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, writes for the Kamloops Chronicle, is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and has been a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Calling it a grant is a game of semantics, when everyone gets an equal share you’re stretching the definition of the word grant. This money wasn’t spread out over multiple levels of governments and we didn’t win a prize, we simply got a portion of a pot of $’s based upon our population which was originally generated from our taxes and was passed onto every community proportionately. This makes it a dividend, not a grant. In short, from our pockets to city hall.
Also, it was slightly over $15 million in which the city choose to spend a reported $7.16 million on the ice surface and of course this doesn’t include the now wasted $1million spent on putting the freezing lines under the water park. Incidentally, if the city had gone with the original plan with the skating loop at the water park site it would have been a $3 million build thus saving the city $4 million otherwise known as couch money for this council and admin.
No incumbents 2026!
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What do you mean by the money “ didn’t come directly out of the pockets of the local taxpayer”? Of course the money came directly out of the pockets of the local taxpayer, it wasn’t found money, there was no rainbow at the entrance of city hall with $15 million blocking the doorway (lord knows that’s the only way this council could find it).
Ottawa collects tax dollars paid directly from our pockets and then disperses chunks to each province. Victoria made a one time dispersement to every community based upon the communities population. The money came directly from the taxpayers pocket, it made a couple pit stops along its way to city hall but that doesn’t negate the fact that the $’s came directly from our pockets. What you should have said was that city hall didn’t receive the money directly from the pockets from the local taxpayer.
Lastly, what about the waterlines placed under the water park which were specific for a future skating loop, they cost the city $1 million and since the water park site was abandoned where in the ledger do we place this million dollar loss?
Maybe I’m nitpicking, after all what’s an extra $ million here or there when you have the grandest outdoor skating loop yet only one outdoor swimming pool in the hottest city in the country.
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So here’s what I mean. The old saying “There’s only one taxpayer” doesn’t recognize the difference between local, provincial and federal taxpayers. When we pay for something strictly on a local basis, we incur the full cost. When provincial or federal funding is involved, that same cost is spread over a much greater population, dramatically reducing the cost to municipal taxpayers.
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All of the money did come from the local taxpayer, no federal or provincial $’s came from either of these levels of government, in fact this project was twice declined for provincial funding.
Moreover, if we had gone with the original plan we wouldn’t have wasted the $million on piping under the water park nor the millions extra on the new design, construction, concrete not to mention digging up the old swimming pool which for the life of me I can’t understand how no one realized it was still intact.
The incompetence and lack of forethought going back to the original plan to dyke the park is staggering in design and $20 million price.
No Incumbents 2026!
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The project was “funded through a $7.16 million Growing Communities Fund grant to support infrastructure projects that support community growth….” – City of Kamloops.
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We are like an hyperactive child with ADHD where millions are consistently needed for appeasement to fend off boredom. And we know that is not healthy…
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