It’s up to residents in Nanoose Bay now whether 3.2 million will be borrowed to replace the aging fire hall.
The Regional District of Nanaimo board voted Tuesday to proceed with a referendum slated to happen March 26, 2011.
In 2006 and 2007 a seismic review of the fire hall was done and consultants determined that remediating the building would be costly and would still not resolve many of the issues within the hall.
The new hall would meet the most current seismic requirements, would use geothermal heating and is expected to see close to 80 per cent reduction in tonnes of carbon emissions. The new facility would also have a rainwater collection system, radiant floor heating and use locally sourced wood, among other sustainable features.
With the Nanoose Bay residents’ approval, the RDN would borrow the money from the provincial government’s Municipal Finance Authority and would repay it over 20 years.
