Court papers have been served to the City of Parksville regarding the closure of the Parksville Community Centre (PCC).
Former city council member Mary Beil has been named in a petition to the court requesting a judicial review of council’s decision to change the use of the PCC.
This is reference to the city’s release, dated Oct. 20, 2020, which states that the current operating agreement with the Parksville Community Centre Society would not be renewed in 2021, and that the city intends to use the building as a childcare space through the Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island (BGCCVI).
Named as the petitioner, Beil sat on council from 2014 until 2018, and also requests that council’s decision be held until a public discussion on the building’s use can take place.
Judicial reviews begin with the filing of a court document known as a petition. Petitions identify the various statutes and rules that will be relied upon in the application for a judicial review, and also sets out the basic facts about the case.
READ MORE: Parksville Community Centre Society asks city to keep centre open
David Todtman and Valerie Dare, both members of the Friends of Parksville Community Centre, went before council on April 19 to present an online petition which, at that time, sat with nearly 2,600 signatures against closing the community centre to the general public.
Beil’s petition to the court referred to the provincial community charter in that “a council must give notice in accordance with section 94 (public notice) of its intention to provide any of the following forms of assistance to a person or organization: (a) disposing of land or improvements, or any interest or right in or with respect to them, for less than market value.” The petition continued to state that “Parksville City Council issued a news release and a signed letter of intent that would change the use of the community centre to a child care centre and rent the space to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island (BGCCVI) for a dollar per annum.”
Beil’s petition was filed with Nanaimo Law Courts on May 10, 2021. The hearing date is set for June 3, 2021, at 9:45 a.m.
In an email to PQB News, the manager of communications for the city, Deb Tardiff, acknowledged receiving the document and wrote that the matter had been referred to legal counsel for review and the city has no comment at this time.