The current RCMP detachment located at 560 Battle street has surpassed both the functional capacity and the spatial needs of a modern police force and will become more constrained as the City and policing staffing needs continue to grow.

The current 40,000 sq. ft. Kamloops RCMP Battle Street detachment was constructed in 1990 to accommodate 75-85 occupants when the city's population was roughly 67,000. At that time, there were approximately 80 total employees, with 50 employees on site at a time. It was expected that the facility would provide the necessary support for policing operations for 10 years.

Since the 90s, Kamloops’ overall geographic size and population have grown. This, combined with ongoing changes in the way local policing is performed and an increase in the number of RCMP members required to deliver policing services, has placed a considerable strain on the Battle Street detachment, which has resulted in the need to address the space constraints. The detachment currently has an occupancy of approximately 150 employees in a building that was designed to accommodate 85.

Committee of the Whole recommended that Council "direct Administration to prepare a borrowing bylaw for up to $150.7 million to fund the proposed third concept co-sponsored by the RCMP and City Administration" and "authorize administration to add $100,000 to the project immediately for the purposes of administering procurement activities, to be funded from gaming."

Facility Rendering

Co-sponsored by the RCMP and City Administration, the proposed project will undertake major renovations and building replacement at the current Battle Street detachment to facilitate an anticipated 30 years of growth for policing in Kamloops.

The current and future needs of multiple functions within the proposed plan have been considered, including, but not limited to, prisoner intake, cells, exhibits, fleet maintenance, crime prevention, forensics, investigative services, information, records, traffic, fitness, training, and management.

This project would champion the values of accessibility, inclusivity, and employee/community well-being within its design. The building would be barrier-free throughout, taking design inspiration from guidelines drafted by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Sustainable initiatives have also been taken into account in alignment with the City’s Community Climate Action Plan. Some of these initiatives would include:

• developing a geothermal field under the new parking structure to offset operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
• using less prescriptive building materials that are sustainably sourced, low emitting, and higher light reflective values.
• creating more natural daylight views for facility occupants.
• constructing a high-performance building envelope system (walls, roof, and windows) focusing on minimizing embodied carbon and better management of solar loads.
• designing a flexible layout with internal walls that are demountable or easily modified.

During construction, operations at the existing detachment would remain in full effect until the completion of the new addition. At that point, RCMP equipment and staff will be relocated into the new addition, and the existing detachment will be demolished. A specialized, two-storey parking structure will be built at the existing detachment location to facilitate current and future RCMP fleet requirements.

If approved, project construction will take place concurrently with the Kamloops Centre for the Arts project approximately 350 m away. Efforts will be made to minimize disruptions to the downtown core while these two large construction projects are taking place in close proximity to one another.

Under the Community Charter, the City is required to exercise any long-term debt borrowing though the Municipal Finance Authority. Prior to proceeding with the borrowing bylaw, the Community Charter requires public approval to enter the debt funding. This can be accomplished in one of two ways—referendum or alternative approval process (AAP).

Financial Implications

Based on the 2025 overall taxation funding level, the proposed borrowing will result in a taxation increase as follows: