Review outlines new model for improved capital project delivery in the City of West Kelowna

Date of issue: Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

The City of West Kelowna has received much-anticipated recommendations for an improved capital project delivery model, which will be presented publicly to Mayor and Council at the Aug. 26 Regular Meeting.

MNP was commissioned to review three major capital projects – Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant, City Hall/Library Building and the Operations Centre – and provide recommendations on how the delivery of major infrastructure projects for the community can be improved going forward.

“I am grateful for the subject matter expertise and clear direction that MNP has provided to help the City of West Kelowna deliver future capital projects in the principled, accountable and transparent approach that Council, staff and our community expect,” said Chief Administrative Officer Ron Bowles.

“Despite these three major projects having been successfully completed, in the face of unprecedented challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the projects’ successes were overshadowed by budget overruns and procedural gaps. Moving forward, those gaps must be closed to ensure that we set clear, transparent and achievable expectations together with our community for future project delivery.”

The review identified areas where the City of West Kelowna performed well and opportunities for improvements, such as:

• Implement a formal capital delivery model to facilitate prompt and consistent decision-making, clarify roles, and avoid planning and execution issues.
• Define checkpoints at key phases, such as design and construction, including standard project deliverables, to avoid scope, schedule and cost/budget issues.
• Maintain risk registers and standardize and track change orders with justification and backup to prevent cost overruns and stakeholder misalignment.
• Formalize project updates to Council and internal governance with standard information and timing to facilitate oversight.

At the Aug. 26 meeting, Council will hear the next steps staff will take to implement the capital delivery model including a request for funding in next year’s budget to procure a consultant that will provide guidance and develop a model framework to be completed in 2026.

BACKGROUND

• Read the Aug. 26 Staff Report to Council and view the Presentation to Council.
  • Council meetings are livestreamed at westkelownacity.ca/webcasts; webcast archives are posted the next business day.
• For more information on Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant, visit westkelownacity.ca/rvwtp.
  • Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant was delivered on budget at $75 million, as committed in 2020; construction was completed in fall 2023 and the plant is in the commissioning phase.
• For more information on the City Hall/Library Building, including the March 4, 2025 news release regarding the final cost report and the final project update from March 2025, visit westkelownacity.ca/cityhallproject.
  • City Hall construction was completed in summer 2024 at $6.17 million over budget, at $24.17 million, compared to the original estimate of $18 million in January 2021.
• For more information on the Operations Centre, please read the latest quarterly update to Council at the May 13, 2025 meeting.
  • The Operations Centre was completed in May 2025, at $685,000 over budget, at $10.49 million compared to the original budget of $9,805 million in February 2024.