Active Living Centre Project

Additional information

• October 2022 referendum results

  ACTIVE LIVING CENTRE REFERENDUM	NUMBER OF VOTES
  YES	5121
  NO	3282

  Media release

  On October 15, 2022, citizens of Vernon voted 61% in favour of borrowing up to $121M to develop the Vernon Active Living Centre. The facility will be located at 3501 43rd Avenue, west of the Kal Tire Place and Kal Tire Place North twin arenas.

  On November 28, Vernon City Council adopted Loan Authorization Bylaw #5908 to borrow up to $121M, inclusive of all costs, for the development and construction of the Active Living Centre.

• Active Living Centre Feasibility Study

  feasibility study - full report

• Feasibility Study public consultation process

  FaulknerBrowns Architects worked with the Feasibility Study Committee to develop a preferred design option that considers:

  • Amenities aligned with the facility priority recommendations identified in the Greater Vernon Recreation Master Plan.
  • Synergies of use and Community Support for one location vs two
  • What We Heard from the Community through public engagement

  What We Heard Report

  Consultation and Engagement included:

  • Pop-up engagements
  • 6 Focus group workshops with 86 participants
  • Representing over 20 user groups
  • Online surveys
  • Open House
  • An interactive workshop with Council and our community partner elected officials
  • Direct mail survey conducted in March 2020.

  Controlled Direct Mail Survey

  A Resident Survey was mailed out directly to residents on March 1, 2020, and was completed by March 30th. This survey was conducted to gather additional resident feedback on the needs for the identified recreation amenities, siting, and overall support for the project in terms of tax implications.

  • Responses were received from total of 530 households.
  • The proportion of responses received generally align with the population distribution in the service area with some variance in the electoral areas.
  • The Margin of error is +/-4.3%
  • If the survey was conducted again using the exact same parameters it is estimated that the results would be within +/-4.3% 19 times out of 20)

  The Survey Questions were designed to help answer the Feasibility Studies main questions:

  • What amenities should be included – both aquatic and dry facilities?
  • Should the facility be built on one site or on two or more?
  • How much would you be willing to pay through taxes?

  Engagement Outcomes: Post-Survey Assessment

  The following information was gathered through the public engagement process and shows the design options as we moved through the process.

  DESIGN OPTIONS AND PROJECT STATUS

  The Design Team reviewed the Short-list design options prepared in late 2019 against the Assessment Criteria.

  Option 1 was a single facility that met all the determined needs and desires of different residents and user groups on a single site but was too costly to build.

  Option 2 provided new indoor recreation spaces in a new facility but kept the Existing Vernon Aquatic facility operational with major renovation work. This was determined to be too costly to operate on an ongoing basis.

  Option 3 met all the aquatics needs with an expanded Vernon Aquatic Centre as well as a second Dry Sports facility adjacent to Kal Tire Place. This option did not meet the communities desire to keep the new amenities on one location and created parking problems at the Recreation Complex.

  The Design Team concluded that the preferred option a hybrid of the first two options: Option 1 design in a way that would allow for Phased Construction Delivery.

• Integrated Project Delivery

  On December 12, Vernon City Council endorsed the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) process to develop the facility. IPD has been approved by Mayor and Council as the collaborative framework that best ensures the Active Living Centre has a strong focus on accessibility, inclusivity, and sustainability while creating a fun and family friendly environment. 

  IPD Project Team
  A City of Vernon Active Living Centre IPD project team has been established, including: Chris Sheel, Manager of Procurement, and Doug Ross, former Director, Recreation Services. They will oversee the project and act as the owner’s representatives. Joining Chris and Doug is Crystal Vandermeulen of VDM Consulting. The City's team is being assisted by an IPD Advisor, who is coaching and guiding the group through the implementation of the IPD model. The purpose of the IPD team is to facilitate the collaborative design, construction, and commissioning of the Active Living Centre.

  The IPD Process
  The IPD process has been adopted for an increasing number of public sector projects. The Canadian construction industry has been developing considerable capacity and valuable experience applying IPD for a wide range of major projects. An important aspect of IPD is that the model merges all parties into a single shared multi-party contract. It transforms the traditional Design-Bid-Build, low bid, change order, adversarial relationship, into one that is team focused and value added. IPD motivates the team using shared financial interests instead of ‘us’ and ‘them’. IPD is a highly collaborative process that is designed to encourage behaviours that lead to exceptional project performance and value. IPD selects and merges the architect, general contractor, and trade partners early on to form a team that together conducts a validation phase.

  The owner’s representatives are embedded and work closely with the core team using Target Value Design and Building Improvement Modelling to firmly establish facts and figures regarding project design, cost, and schedule. The validation phase is conducted over approximately 4-months and all project partners together perform preliminary design, intensive cost estimating, and agree upon a Target Cost to owner for the project. This process delivers the kind of detailed and committed budget certainty early on that the City of Vernon requires for this high-profile project.

  IPD not only establishes full participation and accountability from all contracted parties; it also creates the necessity by imbedding five structural elements. They are: early involvement of key participants, shared risk and reward based on project outcome, joint project control, reduced liability exposure, and jointly developed and validated targets.

  Active Living Centre Objectives 
  In selecting and utilizing IPD, the City can achieve a higher level of confidence in ensuring the prioritization and delivery of the following objectives as established by Vernon City Council:

  • Achieve the goal of the Greater Vernon Active Living Centre Feasibility Study, “to find an indoor facility mix that meets the current and future needs of a growing community and has the opportunity to attract new residents and visitors to the Greater Vernon area”.
  • The facility is accessible, inclusive, fun, family oriented and designed for participants of all ages and abilities and includes all facility features as proposed in the Greater Vernon Active Living Centre Feasibility Study and provided to the public during the referendum communication campaign.
  • The design of the Active Living Centre reflects the Syilx culture.
  • The facility be net-zero ready.
  • The facility meets or exceeds the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Gold Certification.
  • Budget not exceeded.
  • Projected facility opening date by September 2026.