In a special council meeting held on Monday, Langford city council voted unanimously to purchase the Westhills Langford Aquatic Centre and associated 186-space parking lot for $35 million.
This building is home to the YW/YMCA pool, a day care, a Greater Victoria Public Library branch, the Victoria Conservatory of Music as well as Paradigm Orthodontics.
According to the City of Langford, this decision was made after a lengthy process of research and consideration.
Despite city council noting that recreation centres are not profitable, they recognized these facilities are fundamental for offering services for residents.
The last time the facility was assessed, its value was determined to be $35,146,000, which did not include the parking lot.
Langford will acquire both the parking lot and the facility for $35 million.
The main guiding aspect of the council’s decision however, was that by purchasing this property, Langford taxpayers will save approximately $10.2 million over the next 17 years, and $121 million through the lifespan of the building.
“This wasn’t a question about do we spend the money, it was a question about when we spend the money,” said Councillor Keith Yacucha in the special meeting.
These figures were calculated when comparing the purchase to continuing in their current arrangement where the City was still on the hook for the building financially.
Under the existing agreements, prior to the City purchasing the facility, Langford provided around $1.9 million in total annual support and is obligated to provide an estimated $14.8 million in upcoming lifecycle costs.
Langford plans to pay for the $35 million property by using $9.5 million from their Growing Communities Fund provided by the BC government, taking a five-year loan for $20 million and having annual property taxes from 2023, 2024 and 2025 pay the rest.
The City says they opted for a five-year short-term loan to save taxpayers approximately $7.5 million in interest compared to a longer-term, 20-year loan.
For taxpayers, taxes will increase by approximately 1.75% from 2025 to 2028 to repay this loan.
Many in attendance at the special council meeting spoke against the purchase of the building, citing higher taxes as the reason why they were not in favour.
“I don’t think Langford should purchase the building for many reasons,” said Vic McDaniels, Langford resident.
“Over the last two years, homeowners have faced these significant property tax increases and the purchase of the building will burden taxpayers even more than they already have.”
McDaniels added that the YMCA, a respected organization, couldn’t make the pool viable, and he does not think the mayor and council will be able to do any better.
Others who spoke in favour of the purchase cited having a place for children to have access to recreation and programs as their reason to support council in buying the facility.
Regarding the facilities operations, ongoing discussions will be held to enhance recreational services for residents.
Langford is slated to take possession of the building and adjacent parking lot on April 1st, 2025.
