Quesnel – The North Cariboo Joint Planning Committee (JPC) has determined the North Cariboo Multi- Centre will not go to referendum before this November’s local government elections. The referendum will be for a maximum of $14 million, which equals about $60 per $100,000 of assessed value.

There are a number of reasons for the postponement, including time to secure funds from external sources before going to the public, not rushing the project’s development and the overall acceptance for the project in the community.

The Multi-Centre will only proceed to referendum once a commitment of at least $8 million has been secured from outside sources, such as senior levels of government, the corporate community and grassroots community fundraising initiatives. Secondly, the JPC wants to ensure that there is reasonable public support for the project. Once these two conditions have been met, the JPC is prepared to recommend to the Cariboo Regional District that the project proceed to referendum, but not before November 15, 2008, the date of the next general elections for local government.

“The North Cariboo Joint Planning Committee has always heeded the advice of the Multi-Centre Task Force that this needs to be a cost-effective and socially responsible project,” stated North Cariboo JPC Chair Ted Armstrong. “Given the costs we’re looking at, we need to make sure that there is sufficient support out there, not only from the taxpayer, but from senior levels of government.”

The latest cost estimate tagged the project with an “all-in” cost at more than $30 million.

“We can’t go ahead with a referendum this spring hoping that there will be support for the project,” said North Cariboo JPC Co-Chair Nate Bello. “We need to ensure there’s support, both from senior levels of government and from the taxpayer at large. This is going to be the largest investment in recreation facilities in our area for the next 20 years at least. We need to make sure it’s the best project it can be.”

The North Cariboo Multi-Centre is a proposed facility that could host a new 2,000-seat, NHL-sized arena, 450-seat multi-use theatre and accompanying event and assembly spaces.