Three of the key figures in the George Street parkade fiasco, which saw the public kept in the dark about millions of dollars in cost overruns on the downtown city project, are now working together at a Victoria-based management consulting firm.
Former Prince George mayor Lyn Hall, former city manager Kathleen Soltis and former City of Prince George general manager of planning and development Ian Wells are all listed as staff members at Wellesley Consulting Group. Hall’s title at the company is associate, government relations and strategic partnerships; Soltis’ title is associate, stakeholder engagement, people and culture; and Wells’ title is associate, land use and development planning, government relations.
There is no indication that the Wellesley Consulting Group had any connection to the parkade project.
“From government relations and lobbying to branding and strategic/business planning and economic development, our combined experience enables us to work on almost any project in almost any sector,” Wellesley Consulting Group’s website says.
Some of the services provided by Wellesley Consulting Group include strategic planning and risk mitigation, people and cultural engagement, government relations, lobbying, and operational planning and improvement. The company was founded in Prince George by managing partner Ross Birchall.
Soltis, Wells and Hall all left the City of Prince George, after it came to light that Hall and City of Prince George senior staff, including Soltis and Wells, were warned the parkade project would be significantly overbudget in 2018, two years before that information was made public and too late to stop construction. The original budget for the downtown parkade was $12.6 million, the final cost came to $34.16 million – $22.46 million for the parkade, $597,138 to connect the parkade to the city's district energy system, and $11.1 million for water and sewer upgrades in the area, and other off-site works.
Soltis and city council reached “a mutual agreement” to end her employment at the city in September 2020, Wells retired from the city in June 2021 in the position of acting deputy city manager and Hall did not run for reelection in the October 2022 general municipal election.
