Photo: Contributed

The TNRD board has agreed to a lease with SD73 for its former school site in the Tranquille Valley.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District board of directors has unanimously agreed to enter into a four-year lease agreement with School District 73 that may turn its former Tranquille Valley School property into a potential future community hall.

The board also approved signing an agreement with the Tranquille Valley Community Association to maintain and operate the former school site once it has been leased. The site will be maintained as public green space, but could be utilized for a new community hall in the future, according to a report from TNRD staff.

Located at 9760 Meadow Rd. in Electoral Area J, the $1 a year lease with SD73 will run until June 30, 2029 for the property, which has been vacant for more than a decade. The property is currently fenced and gated but there are no buildings or infrastructure on site.

“In the future we could see boys and girls clubs, we could see a number of community functions on this site. Working together with the school board, the community association and the TNRD — and at $1 a year for the lease — I think it's a it's a great coming together,” said Area J director Michael Grenier, who proposed that an agreement for the use of the property be reached with the Kamloops-Thompson school district.

The Tranquille Valley Community Association (TVCA) has been advocating for years for the property to be used for the benefit of the community, according to the TNRD report.

The report stated that the TVCA has expressed a long-term vision for establishing a new community hall on this property, but required community consultation and a public assent will take time, so, in the interim, the TVCA wishes to maintain the site and potentially place a shipping container on the property to store equipment for their local community wildfire response team and to potentially host outdoor community events.

The TVCA is having their annual general meeting in mid-June at which point it will gauge support from their membership to establish an agreement with the TNRD for operation of the site.

The Kamloops-Thompson school district agreed to lease a former school site in Tranquille Valley back in February.

Maintenance needs for the site are limited, with only some occasional grass cutting required, the TNRD report stated.