Erin Haluschak
Record Staff
While Comox council formally voted Wednesday to remove the remaining structures from the Mack Laing Park property, they were informed there may be a possible reprieve for the Baybrook house.
Richard Kanigan, the town’s chief administrative officer explained the town’s parks superintendent Al Fraser will meet with Nickel Bros. on site this week to examine options for moving the home.
Kanigan said he will hear back from Fraser, and if it is feasible and can be done in a relatively straightforward manner, then the issue will be brought back to council for evaluation.
Situated at 70 Orchard Park Dr., Mack Laing’s house has been at the centre of discussion since June last year, as the Comox Valley Naturalists Society and Project Watershed asked council for a delay on demolition.
Council asked for an assessment to determine if the structures (including the main house), which were in sufficiently poor condition, were worth saving.
The report determined the cost of renovating and saving the building would exceed the cost of reconstruction, and the plan was to remove the structure and return the property to a natural, park-like state.
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On track, on time and on budget was the news Tom Sparrow, chief project officer of the North Island Hospitals Project, told council about the new Comox Valley Hospital.
In his regular hospital update presentation, Sparrow said the 153-bed hospital located at 101 Lerwick Rd. should be completely encased by late-fall this year so that crews can begin work on the interior.
He added the building is on time to open in September/October 2017, but plans to have a grace period prior to the formal opening for the 1,200 staff who need to be trained at the new location.
A community information meeting is scheduled for March 11 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Stan Hagen Theatre at North Island College.
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With formal approval of the draft 2015-2019 financial plan Wednesday, property taxes will increase 1.5 per cent for commercial taxpayers and 2.5 per cent for all other property classes. Currently, in 2016 to 2019, there will be a 2.7 per cent increase overall.
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