Town of Qualicum Beach mayor Teunis Westbroek says Nanoose Bay residents should pay taxes for the Ravensong Aquatic Centre.
This was his personal view that he related to council at its regular meeting on April 12. He spoke about it in anticipation of the Regional District of Nanaimo board’s special meeting on April 18 to consider the report of the public engagement summary and options for the Ravensong pool services. A proposed bylaw is being considered that would include Nanoose Bay residents in the pool tax requisition. The meeting will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre located at 747 Jones St.
The issue is being protested by some Nanoose Bay residents, who have signed a petition calling for the proposed bylaw to be rescinded. They indicated that they hardly use the pool because it’s a distance away.
Westbroek said some residents from Electoral Area E (Nanoose Bay) are using the Ravensong pool and he does not agree with the argument that it is too far. He pointed out Qualicum Beach residents pay taxes for regional parks in Nanoose Bay, like Moorecroft Regional Park (formerly Camp Moorecroft).
“The distance is the same,” said Westbroek. “We need to have a regional hat that says these are all good things for the community.”
Westbroek cited another thing Qualicum Beach residents are doing. He said they are subsidizing the Arrowsmith Water Service’s dam that was built and that they don’t use.
READ MORE: Nanoose Bay residents sign petition against proposed taxation for Qualicum Beach pool
“That water is basically going to the other partners,” said Westbroek. “In this case, Nanoose, who was screaming for more water. We never ask for our money back. And the reason why I don’t think we should ask for money back because half the storage was meant to help the fish in the Englishman River. So when salmon come up the river and the fish need more water because the river is too dry, we can release some of that water. So it’s part of the regional hat. Part of the regional picture where we participate in things where we don’t necessarily benefit from.”
Westbroek believes they can negotiate an acceptable amount with Nanoose Bay. He encourages residents to attend the special meeting on April 18.
“It’s open to anybody,” said Westbroek. “It’s a public RDN board meeting where we’ll be hearing from people who are not happy that they may be having to pay for a small portion of the pool. We know there is some usage. There’s different ways to participate and function. You could do it by population. You can do it by assessment and you can do it by usage. And you can do a combination of all three which would make that number, in my opinion, reasonable (between three and five percent). But pay something and be part of the region.”
Westbroek added, “If they don’t pay, guess who pays?”
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