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250-768-2880
2390 Dobbin Road
West Kelowna, BC V4T 2H9
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The 1,767 square-metre West Kelowna RCMP Detachment houses 54 RCMP and staff as well as Community Policing services and Citizens Patrol. The building also has a community meeting room.
The building will receive LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification for a number of its features. Click here to read more about the detachment's climate action attributes.
The building was designed by Omicron Total Building Solutions and constructed by Maple Reinders Inc. Construction began in June 2009. The cost of the building was $8.46 million. To read more about the building's approval process, please click here.
BACKGROUND
RCMP FACILITY – OLD AND NEW
The West Kelowna RCMP Detachment is a tremendous improvement from where officers policing the Westside were housed previously. Up until moving day, September 28, 2010, municipal officers and support staff were housed in a 238-square-metre commercial building at the corner of Old Okanagan Highway and Main Street. Some support staff and equipment had to be housed at other locations throughout the Central Okanagan due to the limited space in these offices. The RCMP considered this arrangement to be inadequate. It also made it impossible to offer some services like criminal record searches and fingerprinting. These services are now provided at the new detachment.
The Detachment was designed with room for future growth in mind, and the potential to add cells exists, if required at a later date. At this time, the Westside uses cells at the Kelowna Detachment. This is more efficient due to their proximity to the Kelowna Law Courts and the added cost of staffing and administering cells in West Kelowna, given how few people would need to be incarcerated on the Westside each year.
The detachment serves West Kelowna, Peachland, the Coquihalla Connector/Highway 97C up to Sunset Main, the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area, Ellison, Joe Rich and Big White and is responsible for Okanagan Lake from Peachland to Lake Okanagan Resort.
LEED CERTIFICATION
The West Kelowna RCMP Detachment, a “green” building, will receive LEED™ Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for a number of its features. LEED™ certification is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. The green features of the building are:
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Reclamation of a brownfield site—The building site was previously a Ministry of Transportation works yard and, over the years, the soil had become contaminated. Redevelopment of a brownfield site—an abandoned industrial property—provides LEED credits.
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Green Roof—The building has a roof planted with natural vegetation. It never needs to be cut and provides many benefits including filtering of pollutants and carbon dioxide, reduced energy costs, sound insulation, extended roof life and storm water management.
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Cistern for Rainwater Collection—An underground water cistern has been installed which will catch and store rainwater for irrigation of the landscaping on the property.
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Solar Panels—Solar panels are installed on the roof for heating of water.
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Low-Flow Plumbing—Fixtures installed in the washrooms and kitchen facilities ensure efficient use of water.
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Efficient Lighting—Lighting fixtures of the building consume less energy.
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Energy-efficient Envelope—The exterior of the building is thermally effective.
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Low VOCs—The paint used in the facility produces low emissions.
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Construction Waste Management—Materials from construction were recycled where possible, reducing waste transferred to the landfill.
PROCESS
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December 2004—After an Alternative Approval Process, the Regional District of
Central Okanagan (RDCO) approved a loan authorization bylaw to borrow $1,668,300 to purchase property at 2390 Dobbin Road for a permanent RCMP detachment.
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April 10, 2006—RDCO awarded a contract to Omicron Architecture Engineering
Construction Ltd. to provide construction management and design services for what was being called the “Westside Rural RCMP Detachment.”
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October 16, 2006—After an Alternative Approval Process, RDCO approved a loan authorization bylaw to $8,260,859 for the construction of the detachment.
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October 9, 2008—West Kelowna Council voted to take over administration of the RCMP project from RDCO.
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October 23, 2008—Sensing a slowdown in the construction industry, tied to a sudden and sharp economic decline, West Kelowna Council decided to re-tender construction, hoping to obtain more favourable quotes in the spring of 2009. Council also directed staff to work with Omicron to achieve every cost savings possible in the design of the building.
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December 9, 2008—West Kelowna Council approved borrowing up to $8,260,859 for construction of the RCMP detachment. The interest and principal charges would amount to $613,397 annually, with 55 per cent of the costs to be recovered in yearly rental charges paid by the Province for rural policing.
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May 12, 2009—Council awarded Maple Reinders Inc. the contract to build the West Kelowna RCMP Detachment for the bid price of $6,653,850. Including the cost of design and consulting fees, the total price for the building would be $8.46 million, $1.03 million less than what the building would have cost had it been tendered six months earlier.
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August 10, 2010—Council voted to name the building the “West Kelowna RCMP Detachment.”
A LANDMARK IN THE MAKING
On June 12, 2009, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at 2390 Dobbin Road officially marking the start of construction on the West Kelowna RCMP Detachment.
For the groundbreaking, Mayor Doug Findlater was joined by Hon. Stockwell Day, Member of Parliament for Okanagan-Coquihalla; Hon. Ben Stewart, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Westside-Kelowna; and, Insp. Cam Forgues, representing the RCMP.
During the following months, Maple Reinders Ltd. was hard at work constructing the architecturally impressive structure, designed by Omicron, which would become a signature landmark in the District of West Kelowna.
Construction ran into a minor snag, when road salt had to be removed from the site because the substance had been deemed a contaminant under stricter government environmental guidelines that came into effect after the site had been initially prepared for construction. However, from then on, it was full steam ahead, as crews created a building that the RCMP would be proud to call home. An official opening ceremony was held on October 15, 2010.
CONTACT US
To learn more about the construction process and operation of the West Kelowna RCMP Detachment, please contact the District of West Kelowna's Facilities Department at: