Whitehorse council: Should we spend $2M to design a building we can't afford?

Whitehorse councillor Rob Fendrick calls it a "chicken and egg" scenario — do you design a new building, then find money to build it, or do you secure the money first?

City politicians are divided over whether to award a $2.1 million contract to design a new operations building to house the city's vehicle maintenance bay and its transit buses. The building is expected to cost at least $44 million, but it's not clear yet where all that money will come from. 

"I have asked for six months that we get our financial affairs in order, before we go down this path," said councilor Dan Boyd.

"If this was you personally doing this, you wouldn't do it this way. You wouldn't spend a whole bunch of money designing a house that you don't know how you're going to pay for."

The new building is part of a plan to consolidate city services in a single building. It would be constructed behind the Northwestel facility on Range Road.

A Toronto-based firm, Rounthwaite Dick and Hadley Architects, submitted the lowest bid to design the facility at $2.1 million.

The new building would replace an aging facility that councillors agree needs to be replaced.

'As soon as possible'

"What we can't afford to do is wait in perpetuity," said mayor Dan Curtis, who favours getting the ball rolling by awarding the design contract. The funding — some of it from Ottawa — will follow, he says. 

"The only way we can really go forward is to have clarity on what the design looks like, and what the phases are going to be, and how we can afford them."

Councillor Betty Irwin agreed, saying having a detailed design is an essential first step. 

"Tell them to hurry. Get it to us as soon as possible," she said.

​Councillors are expected to decide on the design contract next week.