In 2005 the RDN and the community of South Forks Nanaimo River entered into an agreement to build a fire hall in the SFNR community. The agreement limited the amount to be paid to a maximum of $280,000. Due to delays in proceeding with this project, possibly securing the building site, the fire hall was not built.
Sometime in the first 5 years changes to the building and fire codes made the fire hall unaffordable. At this time the RDN should have approached the community and agreed to scrap the project and end the taxes. They did not. The community has been taxed for the last 20 years for a fire hall they would never see. 5 years ago we starting asking for the fire hall or our money back.
Last year we finally had an agreement from the RDN and a mechanism to refund the money accrued in the reserve fund. In December of 2024, this was set aside with an offer of, not a fire hall, but a garage and an obsolete fire truck, but the catch was we would have to agree to continue the taxes for another unspecified period. The community has now said no.
It isn’t your money and you cannot meet your side of the original agreement. It’s time for the RDN to stop delaying this matter and immediately commit to the SFNR community that they would be providing a refund as soon as possible. There have been enough delays already. It could and should be included in the upcoming budget for 2026.
John Campbell
Chair, SFNRCA.
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