Efforts to promote an assent vote (referendum) for an expanded Northside Community Recreation Centre in Lund have drawn opposition, with posters, folders and flyers having been torn down or defaced, according to pro-assent vote organizers.
Lund-area resident Dr. Peter Uhlmann said Lund Community Society has spent more than $1,000 getting posters and flyers printed, conveying all the information being proposed and facts regarding the project.
“As soon as the posters went up, they were being defaced,” said Peter. “We’ve had to have people going back out to rescue posters. They are expensive.”
Peter said the RCMP have been contacted and the police indicated there had to be a specific person who was doing the damage before action could be taken. With that information, the police could then confront that person, said Peter, but at this time, there are no known suspects.
Ronnie Uhlmann, chairperson of Lund Community Society, said everyone has the right to freedom of expression and can express their opposition to the proposed project, but not through tearing down posters.
“We want to come across positively about what we are doing and what our vision is for our community,” said Ronnie. “People can make their own posters and express their own position on this. Everyone has the right to say how they feel, but I don’t want to feed into negativity.”
Peter said from the proponents’ position, it is important to emphasize the positive aspects of what the community centre would do.
“It would be a place for kids to be; there would be a gym and activities,” said Peter. “We want to emphasize this is something we need to have in the community and it has all these benefits.”
Ronnie said the taxation, if the project is approved, would amount to $8 per $100,000 of assessed value on properties. Peter added that if the assent vote fails, the money would not be redistributed to the region’s water system, or to improve parking, which are also desires of Lund community members. He said the grant money is only allocated to the community centre project and would not be expended in the community otherwise.
Peter said the old Lund schoolhouse on Larson Road, for the last decade or two, has been serving as a community centre.
“For any kind of activities in the community, the only two resources are the school, and the gazebo, which is a little outside of Lund,” said Peter. “There has been a desire to build a real community centre and upgrade the school. Ronnie and others worked toward a grant and there was $4.1 million allocated, but it had to be topped up by up to $1.1 million from the community.”
Peter said two people in the community have already personally offered $15,000 and $100,000 respectively toward the community centre, meaning if the assent vote passes, qathet Regional District (qRD) will not have to borrow the full amount.
The new community centre, if constructed, would have a field, a gymnasium, a stage and a kitchen that people could rent, according to Peter. Ronnie said the facility would also serve as an expanded emergency centre for Lund and the surrounding area.
Assent vote
Earlier this year, qRD had initiated an alternative approval process for the community centre, whereby if 10 per cent of the electorate expressed a negative opinion through a written form, the process would fail.
The alternative approval process had to have fewer than 106 votes and 109 were received by the regional district. The regional board then voted to send the matter to an assent vote, which will be held on May 6 at the community centre and at the Lund fire hall. There will also be advance voting at the qRD office on April 26.
According to its website, qRD has secured grant funding up to $4,199,082 through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream, to construct an addition to the Northside Community Recreation Centre, located at 9656 Larson Road. Based on a feasibility study, the new addition is estimated to cost between $4 million and $5.7 million, the website stated.
The $600,000 estimated balance of the project will be funded through a combination of short-term borrowing (up to five years) and reserves set aside for the northside recreation service. The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure Stream runs on a cost-share basis with Canada and BC combining to contribute 73.33 per cent of the eligible project cost and qRD required to contribute the remaining 26.67 per cent, plus any overruns.
To proceed with collecting the project funding, qRD will need to borrow up to $1.1 million from the Municipal Finance Authority, according to the qRD website.
