Photo: File Photo

Nearly two years ago, Tranquille Valley residents began looking into using a former school site for a proposed community hall — but some in the community are now pushing back on the plan.

The Tranquille Valley Community Association passed a motion in 2023 to look into options for how it could acquire the vacant site of the former Tranquille Valley Elementary School for community use.

That spring, Michael Grenier, Thompson-Nicola Regional District director of Area J, proposed that an agreement for the use of the property be reached with the Kamloops-Thompson school district, which owns the property. The TNRD board passed a motion to request use of the site.

SD73 completed the first two of three readings of a new bylaw that would allow it to lease the property to the TNRD in December. The final reading will go to the board on Monday night.

The TVCA has said it hopes to use the property for a community building and for wildfire training. Approximately 20 people in the community volunteered to take part in training after equipment was donated last year.

Opposed to plan

In January, the SD73 board received nine emails and one phone call from community members saying they weren’t in favour of the lease going forward. Two emails supported the idea.

According to the school district, those who opposed said they did not agree with the scope of the project, did not want to invite activity onto the property, feared the risk of fire would increase, had concerns about funding the facility, and didn’t feel there was adequate consultation.

In a letter written to the board of education, Leslie Hardy, who lives next to the site, asked the board to not move ahead with the lease. She also said most residents in the area are oppose the plan.

“We did an informal poll of all properties, one vote per property," she wrote. "There were 12 yays and 68 nays, several didn't respond. That speaks for itself, in my opinion."

Hardy said she has concerns about trespassers on her property, wear and tear on the public road and with over a dozen school-aged children in the community, she said a school would be a better use of the site.

Consultation to come

In a letter to the school district last month, TNRD general manager of operations Jamie Vieira said if SD73 approves the lease, the district would move forward with the next steps in its process.

He said if SD73 approves the lease, it does not obligate the TNRD to establish a hall and wouldn’t impact the tax rates for residents in the valley, but it would allow the TNRD to move forward with the public process.

“A formal public assent process would follow where residents would decide whether they are in favour of establishing a community hall and approving the maximum amount of taxation that would be collected to fund it,” Vieira said.

He said the TNRD is seeking to secure the land prior to the consultation process in order to collect as much information before presenting it to residents.

“Residents need to know what the costs will be, and specifics on the proposed service, in order to make an informed decision,” Vieira said.

He said the land could be used immediately for community events if the lease is approved.

Up to membership to decide

Speaking with Castanet Kamloops, Tranquille Valley Community Association president Barbara Hetherington said the group's membership supported the idea two years ago — and she thinks a hall is still wanted in the community.

Hetherington said she doesn’t share concerns about the amount of traffic that would be attracted to the site if it were opened up as a park or trails.

“I honestly can’t see that happening. It’s five and a half acres of undeveloped land, I don’t think there’s a big tourist truck or a bunch of traffic up here for that,” she said.

She said funding for the hall would be collected through grants and fundraising, but the association doesn’t plan to move forward by asking for a tax increase to fund the facility.

Hetherington said no agreement would be signed with the TNRD until terms are presented at the association’s next annual general meeting.

“It's going to be up to the community to decide if they really want to do that or not. It'll be up to the membership,” she said.

'Driven by the community'

Grenier told Castanet he thinks there is significant demand for a community hall, but said it was rare for a community to unanimously support such a proposition.

He said he’s been told by the community that the project will need to be provided at “no or low cost."

While Grenier thinks the project would benefit the community, he plans to go with what the residents want.

“This is not something that is being driven by the TNRD. This is being driven by the community and the TNRD is helping to facilitate it,” he said.

“This is about providing service to people who are asking for a service to be provided.”