Site work for the future location of No.1 Fire Hall will commence this month with crews clearing the right-of-way for a storm drain that will alter the course of Squatter’s Creek.
Powell River Fire Rescue hosted a public information session Tuesday, October 7, to present property development plans for the future location of the emergency services facility on Barnet Street.
In December 2013, City of Powell River council designated a city-owned vacant lot next to the RCMP detachment as the fire hall’s future site. It was identified, by Fire Underwriters Survey, as one of the best locations for emergency response for both residential and commercial properties which will help maintain the city’s insurance grade ratings.
An environmental impact survey was conducted that looked at its impact to nesting birds, particularly the great blue heron which is known to nest in the area. A riparian assessment focused on the portion of Squatter’s Creek which runs diagonally across the land parcel.
Currently, water from the creek enters the parcel from a storm sewer culvert. A storm drain will be installed redirecting the channel away from the Barnet Street frontage by approximately 85 metres, said Dan Ouellette, director of fire and emergency services. “We think that by doing this we’ll actually make this ecosystem better than it is today,” he said.
A new drainage channel will be constructed complete with habitat enhancement features to ensure there is no loss of productive fish habitat, he added.
Crews will be clearing the right-of-way for the storm drain starting this month followed by new channel construction in November. Enhancement of the existing stream channel is planned to commence in August 2015.
Ouellette said the channel relocation was necessary on the property because without it the property would be too small. “This will give us roughly an acre and a half to build on once this work is done,” he said, adding that no definitive time frames for construction on the site have been established.
At this time, funding for the project is restricted to the storm drain installation and planning for preparation of the land.
The project has been reviewed and approved by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada as well as the BC ministry of forests, lands and natural resource operations.
Abandoned heron nests have been identified on the property, however, they are far enough away from the proposed activity that if the herons decide to return they will not be impacted, Ouellette said.
