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City to spend gaming funds on emergency RCMP upgrades
By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Published 2:34 PST, Mon March 1, 2021
Last Updated: 2:13 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021
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Gaming revenue, left over from previous years, will be used to fund additional capital projects around the city.
Due to the reduced funding this year, several projects that would otherwise have been recommended were instead classified by city staff as “recommended but insufficient funding.” These include an $890,000 upgrade to the RCMP facility on No. 5 Road, where the emergency power system has failed a number of times in recent years due to hydro power failures.
“It seems to be that if the power goes out for our community safety building, the RCMP are possibly without proper resources for a few hours at a time, so it seems to me that this is something that really needs to happen, not just kind of needs to happen,” said Coun. Alexa Loo.
Additionally, $500,000 has been earmarked for replacing the the Hamilton Community Centre’s HVAC system, and the same amount for a city-wide sidewalk and street light replacement program.
The city has just over $1.9 million remaining in 2020 gaming funds, but does not anticipate any additional funds this year due to the temporary closure of River Rock Casino during the COVID-19 pandemic.