City of Parksville officials want to combat the ‘inaccuracies presented on social media’ about the proposed Parksville Aquatic and Recreation Centre.
The manager of communications for the city, Deb Tardiff, issued a release on Monday, June 7, on the upcoming project. Highlights from the release:
• The proposed multiplex site is not located on the wetland feature, about 400 metres to the north. The city does not expect the proposed project to impact the wetlands which is 35.4 hectares (90 acres).
• Most of the facility is envisioned to be on non-parkland parcels owned by the city.
• About 0.8 hectares (less than two acres) of the park is shown as providing potential parking and facility access, as well as Parksville Wetlands access.
• The wetlands will not be logged. The proposed location assists with preserving second growth trees to the south of the site, as noted in the environmental overview assessment report prepared by WSP Canada, which is available on Let’s Talk Parksville, along with all reports.
• The preliminary environmental assessment indicates the watercourses in the project area do not interact with the wetland features; channels enter the city’s storm system at Despard Avenue.
• Further environmental and hydrogeological assessments will be done to address water flow on the project area. The intent is to enhance the watercourse features and explore options to enhance the wetland features to the north.
READ MORE: Parksville city council announces aquatic and recreation centre project
The release stated that although the Despard Avenue site was selected as the test site for conceptual design and further consideration, city council can reconsider its decision on the location if presented with technical reasons, and if community input suggests a willingness to incur extra costs for acquiring private lands, or upgrading offsite infrastructure to serve alternative sites.
Project consultants have started the next phase, and over the next two weeks details will be provided on project timelines for assessments and public engagement.
Further information can be found at www.letstalkparksville.ca.
— NEWS Staff, submitted