It was a small move, but it could make a big difference.
On Tuesday, volunteers, RCMP members and local dignitaries gathered at the new Community Policing office at City Hall in Parksville to officially declare the facility open.
One of those with his hands on the shears at the ribbon cutting was Parksville mayor Chris Burger, who stressed the critical importance of community policing to the overall law enforcement effort.
“I just wanted to extend on behalf of council our congratulations to this great organization,” Burger said. “Policing in the City of Parksville is our single biggest operational item. You can see the real value in having this volunteer resource here to help offset the tremendous workload our police have.”
Burger said the facility, located in the high-traffic area at City Hall, will prove a boon to the organization.
“This building has a tremendous dynamic,” he said. “It’s a high profile location, exactly where I believe this needs to be.”
Community Policing past-president Brenda Forbes agreed.
“We can really showcase what we can do into the future,” she said.
Newly-installed president Alex Cathcart was also delighted with the new facility, but stressed it’s the work on the ground by the dedicated volunteers with the program that are key.
“We are just here to support the important part of the programs and do the background stuff that lets them have at ‘er,” he said.
