Following the latest Hosmer Fire Hall meeting where the RDEK presented the findings of a series of assessment reports on the current facility and options to address required upgrades, the RDEK is seeking the community’s feedback.
“I put a pause on this project so that we could receive an assessment on the current condition of the hall, and have an independent assessment done of options to consider to ensure the fire hall is able to safely house our valued firefighters and their required equipment,” explains Electoral Area A Director Thomas McDonald. “Further, we wanted to ensure that after all of the information was shared with the community, we provided a forum for the community to ask questions, review the reports, and provide their input prior to any decisions being made by the Board on when or how to move forward.”
Two additional truck bays are required as part of the upgrades. During the meeting, staff reviewed five separate options that were identified both through the assessment process and by the community in previous meetings.
These options were more fully explored for viability through the assessment reports:
• Leave the hall as is where it is – this is not a viable option as upgrades are required to keep the fire hall functioning and provide health and safety requirements for our firefighters
• Expand the existing hall
• Renovate the existing hall and add a separate two bay building
• Tear down existing building (which includes the fire hall and community hall) and rebuild a new fire hall on the existing site
• Build a new fire hall at a new location
“When I was elected, this process was already underway and, like many residents in Hosmer, I felt I needed more information and a better understanding of the needs and current conditions of the hall before moving any further. That is what the last year has involved: looking into a wide range of options, and once we felt like we had enough information, taking it out to the community so they could review it and share their input,” adds McDonald.
A comment form, the presentation from the Information Meeting, and copies of all of the assessments are now available on the project page: https://engage.rdek.bc.ca/hosmerfirehall. Residents will have four weeks to provide input with the comment period set to close December 17.
