City council added a new speed bump on the road toward building a long-delayed Kamloops police station.

BC RCMP warned the city this summer it would step in to build a new station if it’s delayed longer, but council is having second thoughts on where it’ll be built, despite dismissing that same suggestion a year ago.

Coun. Margot Middleton proposed taking another look at build locations, specifically suggesting the former Stuart Wood school property downtown.

“I think with design and opportunity, it’s a potential. I would like to see it explored before we commit to another plan,” she said. “I, at this stage, don’t like to see us commit to what the plan is now for the rebuild of the RCMP (detachment) without checking to see if there’s another option.”

The motion didn’t pass without naysayers.

“We have made a decision in the past, we have to take the next step,” Coun. Nancy Bepple said.

Officials from city hall and RCMP agree the project is decades overdue, with the current Battle Street detachment is out of space, housing twice its staff capacity. In February 2025, city council approved a design that would see its replacement built on the same property and the last cost estimate was $160 million.

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson spoke in favour of Middleton’s motion, perhaps vindicated that others now seem interested in finding a new property after his suggestions were shot down last year. Councillors Mike O’Reilly, Bill Sarai and Kelly Hall joined in favour of exploring other options.

Councillors Stephen Karpuk, Katie Netaeter, Dale Bass and Bepple voted against the motion.

In addition to an interest in revisiting the police station, Middleton suggested the “landscape changed” around the Stuart Wood location, but she didn’t go into specifics.

The former school is owned by the provincial government and is used by the public for the playground and its yard for the farmers’ market. The building is also leased as a seasonal homeless shelter.

The vote hasn’t set off and red flags for BC RCMP, but top brass are watching closely from provincial policing headquarters in Surrey.

Spokesperson Staff Sgt. Kris Clark said it’s too soon to know whether the timeline will be affected or by how long, adding that RCMP is “committed to working collaboratively” with city hall.

“As discussions are ongoing, it would be premature to speculate on potential future options or decisions regarding project delivery,” he said in a written response.

It’s not clear how long it would take for BC RCMP to act on its threat to build a new station and send city hall the bill.

— This story was updated with a response from Staff Sgt. Kris Clark at 4:20 p.m. on Sept. 23, 2026.