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City of Parksville to investigate possible contamination at site in industrial park

$100K allocated to 2022 budget to hire consultants to investigate property
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The intersection of Industrial Way and Tuan Road in Parksville, where the City of Parksville will investigate brownfield restoration at 1040 and 1060 Industrial Way in 2022. (Mandy Moraes photo)

Parksville city council has set aside $100,000 to investigate the condition of property at 1040 and 1060 Industrial Way.

At the Oct. 4 council meeting, Coun. Doug O’Brien first introduced the motion to have city staff submit a funding application to the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) for brownfield restoration.

“My point in making this motion at this particular time is to get the wheels in motion to apply for whatever funding we can for brownfield restoration,” said O’Brien. “Basically, it’s the right thing to do because we don’t know what’s actually out there in that industrial park land, especially with its proximity to the aquifers and the Englishman River.”

GMF is a program that finances capital projects that aim to improve air, water and land and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The term brownfield refers to any previously developed property that is not currently in use that may be potentially contaminated.

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“It is a possible potential site for the aquatic centre or other recreation facility that may be needed for the city… it would be an excellent location for that, so my point is if we want to get this restored, the time is now to apply for it,” said O’Brien.

Mayor Ed Mayne said before the city can apply to GMF, they will need to first figure out how significant the contamination is, or if it is contaminated at all, as per the application process.

He said that, in hiring consultants to determine the possible contamination of the property, in three possible phases, the project may end up costing ‘significantly more money’ than the allocated $100,000 set aside for 2022.

“And that’s what the problem is; if you don’t know what you don’t know, it’s a dangerous situation,” said Mayne.

Council voted unanimously in favour of O’Brien’s motion, with Mayne’s amendment to allocate the $100,000 for site consultation first.

mandy.moraes@pqbnews.com

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Mandy Moraes

About the Author: Mandy Moraes

I joined Black Press Media in 2020 as a multimedia reporter for the Parksville Qualicum Beach News, and transferred to the News Bulletin in 2022
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