The spending habits and priorities of Vancouver’s mayor are being called into question after it appears one of the boardrooms at City Hall was turned into a gym.
Coun. Pete Fry posted an image of the boardroom to social media. Scattered sparsely around the carpet is some workout equipment, including what looks to be a Peleton bike, a squat rack, and one set of dumbells.
Fry says back in early January, staff were notified via email by City Manager Paul Mochrie that the mayor and his staff needed to use the Ceremonial Boardroom and the Grouse Room, but didn’t explain why.
The memo stated, in part, that it was for “regular operations of the Mayor and his office team.”
Fry says last week someone left the door unlocked and everyone realized the boardroom was turned into a gym.
He describes Ken Sim’s office as having “infuriating behaviour.”
This comes as Coun. Christine Boyle has been pushing for more financial transparency from the mayor’s office. She’s called into question the office’s spending, saying his budget keeps going up but it’s unclear where the money is going.
This week, city council voted to add a new administrative position to Sim’s office, with an $80,000 salary, which was budgeted for the position. That’s in addition to the $100,000 increase in discretionary funding for the mayor’s personal office, which was approved in December.
CityNews has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.