City, ORL, WFN and and Service Providers Celebrate Opening of City Hall/Library Building

West Kelowna, Okanagan Regional Library, Westbank First Nation and Service Providers Officially Celebrate Opening of City Hall/Library Building with Community 

Saturday, June 29, 2024

The City of West Kelowna and Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) officially celebrated the opening of the new City Hall/Library Building together with our good neighbour Westbank First Nation, service providers in the building and the community at today’s official ribbon cutting event.

West Kelowna Council together with Danielle Hubbard, ORL Chief Executive Officer, and ORL Board members, along with Elder Grouse Barnes from Westbank First Nation, Honourable Dan Albas, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Central Okanagan Similkameen Nicola, Honourable Ben Stewart, the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Kelowna-West, Jason McDaniel, Operations Director with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) and the community celebrated the official opening of the new City Hall/Library building that will provide a variety of services for the Westside community.

The City partnered with the ORL to design, build and operate its first purpose-built City Hall and West Kelowna Library Branch located at 3731 Old Okanagan Hwy in West Kelowna. The MP and MLA offices are also located on the main floor, and pilot projects from ICBC and Service BC are in the planning stages located on the second floor.

“For the past 17 years, the City has been conducting administrative services out of temporary facilities so to celebrate this civic centre building that our community can be proud of is truly outstanding,” says Mayor Gord Milsom. “We couldn’t be more grateful to commemorate this moment together with the Library, with Westbank First Nation leaders, with our MP and MLA, and with ICBC and Service BC.”

“We also extend our sincere gratitude to previous members of Council, ORL Board members, Westbank First Nation members and the many City staff who contributed to making this beautiful building a reality today,” says Milsom. “On behalf of West Kelowna Council, thank you to everyone who joined us as we welcome our community to an inclusive civic centre area, earmarked in collaboration with the Westside Multiculturalism Day event today in Memorial Park. West Kelowna is the place to be – a place where everyone is welcome -- and we look forward to serving our community from a proper administration facility for generations to come.”

“We give special thanks to Westbank First Nation’s partnership and to Elder Grouse Barnes who blessed this building on the traditional territory of the Okanagan/syilx People before we began construction and again today as we continue to move forward together in a good way,” says Milsom. “From the outset of this project, Westbank First Nation has worked with the City and the ORL to provide input into incorporating Indigenous art, language and culture elements in stages. We remain grateful for their guidance as our community partner and we look forward to our continued work together to benefit our Westside community.”

"We are thrilled to announce the grand opening of the West Kelowna Library in conjunction with the opening of the new West Kelowna City Hall,” says Danielle Hubbard, Chief Executive Officer of the Okanagan Regional Library. “This partnership represents a significant milestone for our community, providing a central hub for learning, culture, and civic engagement. We look forward to welcoming residents to these new facilities and continuing our mission to foster a love of reading and lifelong learning."

For more information about the City, ORL, MLA, MP, ICBC and Service BC in the new building please visit westkelownacity.ca/cityhallandlibrary.

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