Thank you, fire Chief Darryl Koshe for an excellent presentation on the construction and relocation of the long overdue new fire hall. Back in the day, the engineering department had the foresight to build the water reservoir to the highest earthquake standards and dual use as a foundation for the conceptualized new fire hall. Then in 1997 [the town council] established a new fire hall fund with the vision of moving forward in the early 2000s.
What happened? [the town council] puts the project on the back burner and spends the money on lower priorities.
Town staff orders a structural report on the existing fire hall, carried out by Harold Engineering. The report warns the building may not withstand even a mild earthquake. [Town council] then decides it would be prudent to spend nearly one million dollars constructing an addition.
According to current mayor Teunis Westbroek, it will be another five years before the hall is built. The town of Qualicum Beach has the ability to fund a new fire hall. I call on today’s council to make safety its number one priority and move forward on the design and build a new state of the art fire hall.
Brian Jenkins
Qualicum Beach