Richmond city council has decided to use about $1.9 million in casino money to fund three capital projects: HVAC upgrades to Hamilton Community Centre, emergency power to the community safety building and sidewalk and streetlight replacements.
City staff noted at Tuesday’s finance meeting that when the power goes off in the RCMP community safety building, the backup system isn’t sufficient to keep operations going.
Coun. Alexa Loo highlighted the fact the RCMP could be without proper resources for a few hours in this building in an emergency situation.
“It seems to me this is something that really needs to happen – not just kind of has to happen,” she added.
The HVAC system at Hamilton Community Centre will cost $500,000, the emergency power in the community safety building will cost $890,000 and the sidewalk and streetlight replacements will cost $500,000.
City staff hadn’t recommended these items be approved as part of this year’s capital budget, which will come back for a final vote at an upcoming council meeting.
River Rock Casino & Resort has been closed since March and the city is currently receiving no gaming revenue. Originally, it expected to receive about $14 million in 2020 in casino revenue.
