Amalgamation of the Gillies Bay and Van Anda volunteer fire departments has been set aside until both groups are agreeable to the prospect.
At the Thursday, July 17, Powell River Regional District rural services committee meeting, a report from Ryan Thoms, manager of emergency services for the Powell River Regional Emergency Program, indicated there is not consensus about how to integrate the two volunteer fire departments with the regional district.
Dave Murphy, Area D (Texada Island) director, said the initiative would be best if both improvement districts moved forward with the understanding they can work together in a fire service.
Thoms said the regional district had done what it could to facilitate an amalgamation and that the steps were in place to follow through with amalgamation, but until the point where both the Gillies Bay and Van Anda improvement districts were in agreement, the regional district was not in a position to proceed.
“We should put it on the shelf,” Thoms said. “It doesn’t mean it’s gone for good but there is no purpose in pursuing it until both improvement districts are on board.”
Colin Palmer, regional board chair, said the fact that the two volunteer fire departments do not want to go ahead with the initiative is okay.
“If they want to defer this at this point, fine,” he said.
Murphy said he had some very good dialogue with the administrator from Gillies Bay as well as the Van Anda improvement districts.
“For the Van Anda Improvement District to move ahead, it’s not going to work without the cooperation of Gillies Bay,” Murphy said. “Gillies Bay has indicated to me through their administrator that they are prepared to open up some dialogue but they have to massage their trustees.”
The initiative to integrate the two volunteer fire departments into a volunteer fire department administered by the regional district originated in 2012, when the fire chiefs of both of those departments were invited to participate in a general discussion with the region’s fire chiefs. During the discussion, the Van Anda and Gillies Bay fire chiefs expressed that their respective departments could benefit from integration with the regional district.
In January 2013, the regional district received a service review of both volunteer fire departments. The review recommended, once all parties were in agreement, to proceed with the merging of the two fire service areas into one fire service area administered by the regional district, and to expand into Texada Island’s populated areas that currently do not receive local fire protection.
Following the review, the Gillies Bay Improvement District did not support the transfer of its fire department assets, in particular, the fire hall, to the regional district.
The rural services committee carried a recommendation to indefinitely suspend the initiative to include the Gillies Bay Fire Department and Van Anda Fire Department under the umbrella of the regional district fire services until such time that both improvement districts indicate their support for this transition.
At the Thursday, July 24, regional board meeting, directors carried the recommendation from the rural services committee. The board also voted to support proceeding with the necessary steps for the jurisdictional transfer of both volunteer fire departments should both improvement districts indicate support for the initiative.
